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January 05, 2008
ANTONIO MOLTONI FROM THE MAGAZINE 'THE END' INTERVIEW
by K-Y-M
K: What is your background - have you worked with a magazine or any
other media before?
A: I have an unusual background... I have a post graduate degree in financial economics, but after one year in investment banking I decided to do something I liked and co-founded THE END with 5 other friends. While attending university I collaborated with the independent magazine Caffelatte, an editorial project that was absolutely groundbreaking in Italy at the time and that's not running anymore (unfortunately), then other magazines, then THE END. I also work for a major luxury brand as a commercial officer.
K: What was the original idea behind THE END? Is THE END. a way of expressing yourself
and your group of people's ideas, or is it more a way to actively find new ideas to explore?
With KCTV it's a lot about getting all those ideas we have out there, and share it, but there is also this element with media that you can always use it as a tool to explore and a field to share what you find - which is what the whole fanzine scene was much about. You know, going out there and doing it yourself - without necessarily having the photographers and journalists needed.
A: THE END. came as a result of Caffelatte's death. The former editor in chief of Caffelatte is now the EIC of THE END. So the idea came from him. Then we all joined. The End. is basically a container filled with all the things we like, it's a genuine expression of our tastes and culture, then secondly also a way to explore new ideas.
K: Who is your target audience? Being based in Milan, where most
Italian magazines are based you must be much influenced by the Italian
scene. I know PIG is the only big fresh and young magazine on the
market, as opposed to England where we have plenty of them (like i-D
and Dazed), is it hard to break trough the Italian classic
conservative market?
A: It is every time you try to communicate with a usual mean in an unusual way.
You mentioned Pig as a fresh magazine, and it surely is compared to the most institutional ones, but it has a recognizable and acquired expression code, common to many other magazines both Italian and International. Also THE END has an aesthetics traceable to other foreign magazines but it's quite unique in the Italian landscape therefore harder to understand and recognize.
K: You wrote about Brian Kenny in your 4th issue for example. THE END
crosses the border of a fashion magazine and mixes it with the (queer)
underground art scene, do people find it controversial in Italy? I always heard about how straight and macho the Italians are, but then again that's my stereotype of Italian men based on both football supporters and random tourists I've seen in London (and off course the aggressive language).
A: I wouldn't say Italians are more straight and macho than other western countries citizens. That's a stereotype which can be true, but not so much in general. I think Americans and some English or German guys are much more conservative than Italians themselves. If it wasn't for the Vatican influence I think we'd been ahead of many other places.
K: Do you have any connection to the gay\queer art scene personally or is that more of a focus area?
A: Milan is quite small and all the arty, queer scene is somehow interconnected, we all know each-other and we have some common interests but I wouldnÕt describe it as a connection and itÕs not my focus area.
K: How are the fashion stories in THE END created? The photography style is
quite 'arty', is it more about the photography or about fashion itself? There's a big trend with art photography meets fashion now, with campaigns such as Marc Jacobs by Juergen Teller and Cindy Sherman, which is very simple as opposed to high production shoots you might find in Italian Vogue.
A: We like the aesthetic of normality, which sometimes can be more impressive than fiction.
K: Do you care about trends and seasons, or is the fashion in THE END more based around style and style concepts?
A: It's impossible to ignore trends when you talk about fashion, Ôcause fashion is a market and market is about product. Aren't we just well packaged products?
K: Well, in certain ways we are all products, but there is also this notion of style, and maybe more specifically sub-culture which transgresses the borders of fashion. Where style dictates how they use the current fashion and not vice versa. I think fashion very often seeks out these people and uses them, almost milk them, to then create what you would say is a product - and there is a difference between magazines who are about style, and magazines who are about the product. Magazines like BUTT for example adapts even the ads to their own style and format. And recently Magnum (the photo agency) published the series 'A FASHION MAGAZINE' where a photographer actually edits the whole issue himself, and it is all about how the photographer sees style, and the ideas related to it, rather than the actual trends photographed. But obviously you can never escape the value of market when you make a magazine.
Which leads me to my next question, are you an independent magazine, or is there any publisher who has the last word? It is always a dilemma with (self-censorship and) independence vs. publishers, markets and demand.
A: We are an independent magazine since we own the very small and independent publishing company.
K: I like the section in the back, THE END BOUTIQUE, where you choose a person to go out and select a few vintage items from shops to feature. Where did you get the idea to do that?
A: Most of people who work in fashion are too intelligent and too poor to buy expensive things, vintage and flea markets offer very good choices.
K: Haha, that's a really good statement. I think you are very right. The whole east London fashion scene is based on 'poor' intelligent people who use what they have and get what they need out of it. It's probably quite good to be creative about where you get your stuff, rather than relying on the shelves of the shops to have what you want ready for you.
But to finish this off.. I noticed your tattoo when I met you (a thick band around his forearm)... and I've heard about it.. What's the actual story behind it?
A: I think you're referring to Fabrizio's tattoo :)
anyway since he's my ex boyfriend and we've been together for five years... I think I know the story... but I'm not gonna tell you :)
LINKS
THE END
ANTONIO MOLTONI
K-Y-M
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