DECENT – new generation men's magazine

Hi. We are DECENT, a new independent print magazine for men, created by women. 

The past few months have seen us busy putting together the launch issue for print which we were aiming to publish later this summer. While the global pandemic has meant we have to wait a little longer for the print issue (current  print schedule has a live date Oct 2020), we have been talking to the talented team in SCCO in Sydney, /somethingcreativeco.com/ to create a DECENT website. The plan is to give DECENT an online presence while the publication gets ready for launch. 

Creating a website for the DECENT brand, which will have flourished from a simple landing page into a full digital entity that supports the print publication and offers the opportunity for it to live digitally, which welcomes a more multimedia approach to content. 

Now a little bit about us.. 

We believe today’s binary idea of manhood is narrow, outdated, and even dangerous. There’s more nuance, depth and goodness to most men than the stereotypical and stubborn ‘real man’ myth conveys. 

Through diverse storytelling, we aim to celebrate the good guys – and by doing so, subvert the idea that a gender needs to act, look, think or feel a certain way just because they are born, or define themselves, as man.

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While it’s an empowering time to be a woman, what’s going on with men? Devastating suicide numbers, mental health issues, perpetual sexual harassment, violence… 

A significant reason for this is the patronising (sic) notion of what it means to be a modern man. A belief that leaves little room for diversity, vulnerability, compassion, emotion – or simply being a bit different from the traditional shape of a man. 

The lack of space in publishing for different men’s voices and their versions of masculinity in media is, to us vividly clear. With so much chat about toxic masculinity, one wonders if all males should come with a radioactive waste label. This is hardly constructive. To anyone.

A change has begun. New heroes are raising their voices. We’re looking at you, Dave, Obama, Andy Murray, Stormzy, Campbell Addy, Akala, Grayson Perry, Loyle Carner…just to name a few. Old silences are being broken and new ways of being a 'man' have started to emerge.

We, a global collective of creative women, want to accelerate this change. We’ll be creating a beautiful, hefty print magazine that features stories, photography, interviews, articles, illustrations and fashion editorials about what being a man in 2020 could feel and look like. 

What's on the agenda? We’ll dig into the new era of hip hop culture and the changing world of sport. We examine how male aesthetics have diversified in the past decades – are we waving bye-bye to the sculpted Viking face and saying hello to androgyny? We talk frankly about sex and encourage you to do so, too. We chat with some amazing men about love, life and things they’ve learned along the way. We cover fashion and mental health, and get deep with some well-dressed dudes about not what they wear but why they wear it.

We promise you won’t find luxury watches, expensive cars, or protein ball recipes. Just a coffee-table magazine (for the lack of a better buzzword) packed with inspirational people, candid conversation and interesting, fresh perspectives.

All DECENT content is captured and created by women because we believe that true gender equality requires some serious collaboration – and building beautiful bridges, not mad walls. By harnessing the fabulous force of female creativity, we also aim to give space for underrepresented groups and empower a diverse set of young creators. 

Because that’s how culture changes and we progress as decent human beings.

OUR CORE CREW

Maria Kivimaa, Editor-in-chief

Culture and Brand Strategist. Originally from Helsinki, a proud Hackney cliché now for 12 years. Written a guidebook about lesser known London, blogged for Huffington Post, interviewed musicians and co-ran a Nordic style magazine Alvar. 

Sylvie Edwards, Co-Founder and Production Director

Producer extraordinaire, can make anything happen in half the time and budget. Film is her first love, print comes as a good second. Owner of the most beautiful animal on earth, a dog called Albert (see our profile pic).

Mariana Lobos, Creative Director 

Designer, art director, avocado enthusiast, latina - very good with plants.

Efe Igbinadolor, Fashion Editor

Efe-I is a London based, globally available award-winning Art Director and Stylist. 

Producing work for; Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A), Vivienne Westwood, Vogue Italia and Nowness. Her skill as an expert daydreamer is one of her biggest assets on shoots.

Stephanie Falkiner, Associate Publisher

Studio Manager at Time Inc/TI Media, knows a few things about magazines. Spent half a decade on NME and Marie Claire, then decided to qualify as a Reflexologist to bring the chill to East Londoners. Tattooed Yorkshire gal, usually found eating around E8.

Gabi Mostert, Creative Consultant

Creative Director, writer, comedian, unicorn wrangler, liar. Originally from South Africa. Absolutely horrific dancer.

Risks and challenges

How will the money be spent? We won’t be taking any money for ourselves but put everything towards creating a two phased approach to our website. The two phased website creation and build will cost £2,000, and any additional budget will be put into paying our contributors fairly for their time and collaboration.