In 1999, Babeth Djian, fashion editor and avant-garde stylist, created Numéro, a Parisian magazine since then famous for its unique and audacious aesthetic, tying together fashion and contemporary art.
From the first issue, and every month thereafter, Babeth gave a carte blanche to Guido Mocafico for the magazine’s closing pages. The photographer was free from any diktats, whether it be from direction, stylists, or advertisers. This is a rare privilege in the world of fashion magazines today, driven by advertising. Mocafico created provoking and immutable still-lifes (of perfume bottles, shoes, watches, and jewelry) using major genres such as architecture, landscape, or nude photography.
This innovative and experimental platform given by Numéro to the artist allowed him to let his imagination run free, to offer a sharpshooting, offbeat, critical, even cynical view of our contemporary world of vanities. He emulated this creative space, laying down the principles of his major series like Medusa, Movement, Serpens, and Stilleven, which would later be published by Steidl. In three volumes, this publication reveals the creative and prophetic production of the photographer’s work.
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Philip Utz is editor-in-chief of Numéro, international fashion magazine founded by Babeth Djian and edited by Paul-Emmanuel Reiffers. His editorial line is enriched by major international brands and made Numéro a cult magazine of fashion, art, and design. The magazine is available in several international editions.
