Visionaire’s latest book, Issue 63, FOREVER, comes out on May 10. And this year, the project has been underwritten by G-Shock—the watchmaker known for its durable timepieces. What’s the tie-in, you might ask? Visionaire’s avant-garde edition is rendered entirely in metal, and features images by artists and fashion designers that have been either hammered or laser-etched into 9×12 inch plates. Thus, both the timepieces and the tome are, in essence, everlasting.
“The word indestructible is the catalyst—if G-Shock does the indestructible watch, we want to do the indestructible publication. It was a nice, tight concept,” said Cecilia Dean, Visionaire’s co-founder and editor-in-chief. G-Shock, who’s celebrating its thirtieth anniversary and a recent store opening in Soho, liked the pitch and came on board to sponsor the inevitably “expensive” production.
The idea for an all-metal issue spawned during Dean’s time spent with Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci, while working on Visionaire’s Issue 60: RELIGION. “In religious iconography, there’s all this incredible metalwork, the metal on the altars, gold painting—it’s just so beautiful and rich,” said Dead, adding, “I have to say, it’s so funny everything goes back to Riccardo—a big inspiration was also the Jay-Z and Kanye West album cover he designed,” referring to 2011’s Watch the Throne.
FOREVER features everyone from a nymph-like Kate Moss shot by Mario Testino, to a Karl Lagerfeld-lensed in-the-buff Baptiste Giabiconi, to a suggestive Lady Gaga snapped by Inez & Vinoodh (above), to Linda Evangelista ringed in light by Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari. “It’s Linda as a saint, basically,” said Dean.
To commemorate the coupling, G-Shock will open a mini-retrospective of Visionaire’s past (above) in its downtown outpost tomorrow. The exhibition runs through the end of May.
—Nick Remsen
Photos: Inez & Vinoodh/ Visionaire (Lady Gaga Plate); Courtesy of G-Shock (installation)
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