Singles magazine is an antidote to the fast fashion system

As fashion arguably folds in on itself, with more designers bowing out of the traditional seasonal schedule and redefining the system on their own terms, printed publications are quietly finding a way to keep up with an industry in turmoil. Competing with not only the pressure of an ever-shifting system but also instantaneous nature of online coverage and the constant scroll of social media, many titles are choosing to move towards a more considered approach to magazine publishing.

Deciding to bow-out of content chasing and instead using print as a space to play with just one photo story explored in depth per issue, Singles is a new semi-regular fashion publication launched by editor, designer and publisher Suzy Wood. Founded as a reaction to the increasingly overcrowded nature of fashion photography coverage, Wood hopes the publication will bring narrative back to the forefront of fashion editorial.

“Magazines sharing progressive fashion photography are becoming overwhelmingly dense. They are incredible, wonderful objects, but there’s such an embarrassment of riches within each issue that even brilliant work can get buried. It’s harder to appreciate the individual acts of creativity among the noise.”

Joining forces with photographer Clare Shilland and stylist Hanna Kelifa, Wood aimed to facilitate a space in print in which fashion stories were given independence, context and the focus to be fully realised. Each issue of Singles is to be approached as if it were a one-off, with no set aesthetic agenda and everything from the art direction to the paper on which the publication is printed adaptable in keeping with each issue’s sole story.

“There’s no great commercial or careerist agenda to justify it – instead, it’s about being able to operate on an instinct outside of those concerns. Making and sharing for pure pleasure is a really celebratory act, and we hope to create a space where narratives and image play and all types of print methods can take precedence over seasonal credits, competition for page count, and marketing opinion,” says Wood.

Singles No.1 launches 9th February 2016 at Claire de Rouen – more details here