The Face Magazine: Culture Shift is the definitive visual record of the British style magazine that reshaped photography, fashion journalism, and youth culture across its original 1980–2004 run — drawing on its most iconic portraits and landmark design.
About This Book
Few magazines have left a more legible mark on visual culture than The Face. Ground-breaking from its first issue, it launched the careers of photographers, designers, and journalists whose influence persists decades on. This volume brings together the magazine's most iconic portrait photography — from Kate Moss and David Bowie to Kurt Cobain and Iggy Pop — alongside selected covers and spreads that demonstrate its radical, of-the-moment design sensibility. Contributors from the original magazine provide firsthand context, situating The Face's experimental approach to style photography within its broader political and social moment. For anyone working in image-making, editorial design, or visual culture, this is essential primary source material.
Key Features
- 288 pages of iconic portrait photography, archival magazine covers, and editorial spreads from The Face's 1980–2004 run
- Contributors include Sabina Jaskot-Gill, Ekow Eshun, Jamie Morgan, Pete Paphides, and Matthew Whitehouse
- Photography by Miles Aldridge, Elaine Constantine, Corinne Day, David LaChapelle, and Juergen Teller
- Portraits of Kate Moss, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Iggy Pop, Snoop Dogg, Annie Lennox, Ewan McGregor, Kylie Minogue, Madness, and The Sex Pistols
- Published by National Portrait Gallery Publications, 2004
What You'll Discover
- How The Face evolved from music journalism into a multi-disciplinary platform for fashion, politics, and social commentary — and why that breadth defined its cultural authority
- The magazine's role in establishing a generation of photographers whose experimental approaches to portraiture became the benchmark for editorial image-making
- The relationship between The Face's distinctive, bold graphic design and its editorial stance — and how that visual language influenced British art and design well beyond its publication run
- Firsthand reflections from key contributors on the magazine's inclusive ethos and its enduring legacy in visual culture
About the Author
Sabina Jaskot-Gill is joined by co-contributors Ekow Eshun, Jamie Morgan, Pete Paphides, and Matthew Whitehouse, each bringing distinct perspectives drawn from their connections to the magazine and its cultural moment. [Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 288
- Dimensions: 328 x 260 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781855145849
- Publisher: National Portrait Gallery Publications
- Publication Date: 2004
Perfect For: Photographers, editorial designers, fashion historians, and anyone with a serious interest in British visual culture, youth culture publishing, or the history of style photography.