In 1992, Elein Fleiss and
Olivier Zahm started the magazine
Purple Prose as a reaction against the superficial glamour of the
1980s; much as a part of the global counterculture at the time, inspired by magazines like
Interview, Ray Gun, Nova, and ''Helmut Newton's Illustrated
, but with the aesthetics of what usually is referred to as anti-fashion. Based on their personal interests and views; Purple'' was, and in a sense still is, made much in the same spirit of the
fanzine. When Fleiss left the magazine in 2002, Zahm put a growing emphasis on Purple becoming a fashion magazine, a more sustainable business model. The magazine became associated with the "realism" of the new fashion photography of the 1990s, with names like
Juergen Teller,
Terry Richardson,
Wolfgang Tillmans, and
Mario Sorrenti and closely associated with the zeitgeist of the time featuring 90s style icon Chloë Sevigny in almost every issue. In the introduction of the
Purple Anthology, Zahm writes: In 2004, it was divided into
Purple Fashion, published by Purple Institute based in Paris and New York, and
Purple Journal, published by Les Editions Purple, based in Paris. On February 16 the first installation of
Purple Fashion's new web site was launched. The art director of Purple Prose and
Purple Fashion was
Christophe Brunnquell until 2006, when he was succeeded by
M/M Paris.
Offspring publications Fleiss and Zahm's collaboration has resulted in many side projects: • Purple Prose – published from October 1992 to winter 1998 (13 issues). •
Purple Fiction – a literary magazine published between 1995 and 1998 (4 issues). •
Purple Fashion – published between 1995–1998 (4 issues), and 2004–present. •
Purple Sexe – a magazine devoted to sexuality, published between winter 1998 and 2001 (8 issues). The magazine was reborn as a one-off appendix for
Purple Fashion Fall/Winter 2008/09, dedicated to Italian porn star
Rocco Siffredi. •
Purple – a fusion of Purple Prose,
Purple Fiction,
Purple Fashion, and
Purple Sexe; published between summer 1998 and 2003 (16 issues). • Purple Books – a publishing house (1998–2001) • Purple Gallery – a Parisian art gallery •
Purple Journal – a cultural magazine published 2004–present in a French and an English version. Since 2004, Purple is divided in two different publications;
Purple Fashion magazine (edited by Zahm and published by
Purple Institute) and
Purple Journal (edited by Fleiss and Sébastien Jamain, published by
Les Editions Purple).
Purple Fashion's artist's books Since its second issue, each number of
Purple Fashion comes with an artist's book: • No. 2 –
Terry Richardson:
Terry • No. 3 –
Richard Prince:
The Hippie drawings • No. 4 –
Hedi Slimane:
Interzone • No. 5 –
Juergen Teller:
Ed in Japan • No. 6 –
Rita Ackermann:
Good morning New York • No. 7 –
Helmut Lang:
Selective memory series • No. 8 –
Dash Snow: ''You can't drink it if it's frozen'' • No. 9 –
Christophe Brunnquell:
Annees Erotiques • No. 10 –
Harmony Korine:
Pigxtras • No. 11 –
Marlene Marino:
Cuba 2009 • No. 12 –
Ari Marcopoulos:
Debris • No. 13 –
Aurel Schmidt:
Pussy • No. 14 –
Vincent Darré:
Vincent • No. 15 –
Thurston Moore:
Street Mouth • No. 16 –
Katja Rahlwes:
Full Moon • No. 17 –
Richard Prince:
Purple 20 Years, The Richard Prince Purple Book • No. 18 – • No. 19 –
Ryan McGinley:
The Journey is the Destination ==References==