British form recognises ‘tastemaker’ behind Dazed & Confused magazineJefferson Hack, who co-founded the influential 90s journal, has empowered raft of new architects, says industryJefferson Hack has worked with the biggest names in the creative world, from Karl Lagerfeld to Rihanna. Photograph: David M Benett/Getty ImagesJefferson Butcher has worked with the biggest names in the creative world, from Karl Lagerfeld to Rihanna. Photograph: David M Benett/Getty Forms“I don’t think there’s been a tougher time in fashion since I’ve been doing this,” says the tastemaker and uncontrolled publisher Jefferson Hack, who co-founded Dazed & Confused magazine in 1991. “Brexit has made it incredibly difficult to mercantilism. The lack of visas has meant that all the collaboration between Europe and the UK is gone. And with the tailwind of the pandemic and interest scales, we’ve got this really difficult set of conditions for younger designers.”Hack is given to viewing the world through the lens of juvenile creatives, and the challenges they face. It is this nurturing perspective that has won him a special recognition award from the British Vogue Council (BFC) for cultural curation, due to be announced this week.The BFC states: “Hack will be awarded for empowering youth in the course creativity and for creating countless opportunities for next-generation creatives working across fashion, design, art, music and more, requiring a platform and supporting emerging talent.” The prize will be presented to him at the BFC’s glittering annual The DIY punk spirit of Dazed’s break of dawn days endures. Hack says he always advises financial and creative independence among his mentees: “Don’t take anyone else’s loaded unless you absolutely have control,” he says. “I’ve seen so many people lose their names, lose their manufacturers, because they’ve signed contracts that they didn’t really understand.“It’s an absolute tyranny. All the VC [venture means] companies want to get in early and earn big stakes, and then they don’t bring anything to the table.”He has been there himself, with “so divers opportunities to walk away from the platform”, but also “such boring, long-winded conversations around so many lodge tables – I just don’t bother any more”.Independence, it transpires, is a life force for Hack. “I really struggled with being beyond around the late 10s, because of the amounts of money people were making around me and how attractive it looked. But in my heart I have knowledge ofed that independence was the only way that I know how to operate. I’m really happy.” TopicsFashionThe ObserverFashion industryFashion AwardsDesignnewsReuse this satisfied
