A Clear Winner

Since Clear Magazine’s website is forever under reconstruction, I decided to take some pictures of the issues I own of this highly underrated Fashion and Design magazine.

Sure, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar may be the leading fashion bibles on the shelves today, but what they lack is content since 70% of it is filled with nothing but advertisement. Clear, on the other hand, is anything but fluff, this is a high end magazine.

By high end I mean it in a way that this is the kind of magazine you don’t throw away, will never go out of style, and each issue is designed uniquely, yet they retain the same basic structure since its inception.

Looks

While many are printed on cheap, thin, disposable paper, Clear Magazine has heavy, thick, glossy paper, printed especially on Yupo paper. The peculiar thing about it is the translucent cover that sheaths the hardcover. Often the graphics overlaying the model, a play on graphic design. The logo and “clear” covers are instantly recognizable and comes in various shades with each issue. Graphically each issue has a distinct style, whether it would be explosive red and white rays, angled text, gradient backgrounds, or funky graphics over photos, anything goes.

Content

Most of the content come from international contributors- reputable photographers, writers, architects, designers, editors, and so on. The main categories they focus on are: architectural design, object design, and of course, fashion. Many articles are dedicated to luxury objects like the Nokia Vertu, a gold Mac laptop, designer watches, and luxury cars.

Sections

One section of 5 or so pages are graphically dedicated to shapes we recognize from burnt toast to jeans and give you a short history of each item depicted.

There are 2 fashion editorial themes per issue, with the best airbrushed work I have ever seen. Wow.

In architectural design, there are a slew of new places discovered with every issue from Amsterdam to South Africa. You’ll find the latest boutique hotel and breathtaking photos from Moscow to Tokyo.

In several issues, there is one special page made exclusively for Clear – the magnetic paper. Thick like the cover of the magazine, but thin enough to fold and flop like pages, the magnetic paper is a first. The page can be torn off and stuck on your refrigerator, clearly, the magazine is all about innovation.

This is the kind of magazine that are collectible and will never go out of fashion. It’s the perfect coffee table compliment.