Following the FTC settlement, in 2003 then Crescent/Blue Horizon president Bruce Chew was indicted, along with alleged organized-crime figure Richard Martino and others on federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, credit-card fraud and money laundering for illegally billing web users including for the Playgirl website. changed its name to Blue Horizon Media, Inc. In December 2001 Crescent Publishing Group, Inc. Chew and David Bernstein were barred by the FTC from operating adult entertainment websites unless first posting bonds of $500,000 each. As a further condition for the settlement Crescent principals Bruce A. In November 2001 for one of the then largest FTC settlements involving online credit card fraud, Crescent agreed to pay $30 million in refunds and to post a $2-million bond before it could continue to operate its websites. In August 2000 Crescent was charged by the Federal Trade Commission with over $180 million of online credit card fraud, much of which was alleged by the FTC to have taken place on the website. until 1993 when Drake was merged into Crescent Publishing Group, Inc. The magazine was published by Drake Publishers, Inc. As of 2016, the magazine was believed to have had only approximately 3,000 subscribers. The magazine returned to print as a sometime quarterly beginning with its March 2010 issue. From March 2009 to February 2010, Playgirl appeared only online. The magazine covered issues like abortion, equal rights, interspersed with sexy shots of men, and played a pivotal role in the sexual revolution for women. In 1977 Lambert sold Playgirl to Ira Ritter who took over as publisher. Playgirl magazine is available to buy online, and also at magazine and bookstores, design stores and museum shops worldwide, priced £15 .The magazine was founded in 1973 by Douglas Lambert during the height of the feminist movement as a response to erotic men's magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse that featured similar photos of women. “It was the right moment to launch a magazine which re-addressed the power of women – I think that’s what this magazine was about, and what we wanted to re-establish again.” Raquel Willis shot by Kat Slootsky Sylvie Fleury, Wild Pairs, 1994-2015, Sprayed stillettos, Playgirl magazine pages, Courtesy: the Artist and Istituto Svizzero, Roma. Wiederin believes now felt like a particularly fitting time to reintroduce the title, in the wake of the Me Too movement and Harvey Weinstein’s sentencing.
“We wanted to create a link to the 70s, when it was founded and where it comes from, and create a new interpretation of that – as funny as it sounds, even certain content that was relevant back then is still relevant now.”
Courtesy of the artist and DeBoer Gallery, LA Photograph by Catherine Servel For me that goes hand in hand.” Photograph by Myla Dalbesio Back cover, Shannon Cartier Lucy, Woman With Machete, 2020. “I don’t believe in just creating an aesthetic which doesn’t have anything to do with the content.
“I link content and design as much as I can,” he explains. He says his approach was to create a framework that would let Playgirl’s stories sing.
Top image: Chloë Sevigny photographed by Mario Sorrenti Above: photograph by Harley Weir Photograph by Vanina Sorrenti Aminatou Sow shot by Andre WagnerĪlex Wiederin – who’s also worked with Dazed & Confused, The Face and Another Magazine – serves as creative director for the mag and says it’s “the idea of telling stories, not just having a combination between text and image” that drew him to the project.Īccording to Wiederin the redesign process was complicated, partly because people engage less with printed matter now than when the original Playgirl magazine launched, and also because plans to relaunch the mag were interrupted by the arrival of Covid-19. In terms of appearance, the title makes something of a return to its early glory days – which means a 70s-inflected typeface, created especially for the mag, and a focus on big, bold photography contributed by Harley Weir, Elinor Carucci and Myla Dalbesio, and featuring both male and female nudity. The first new issue of the magazine, which will now come out once every year, is helmed by a mostly female editorial team, and includes stories that cover everything from mental health, female activists, the patriarchy and parenting to female friendship and BDSM. Just over ten years since its final print issue Playgirl magazine has come back to life, with a renewed focus on the original, feminist slant that defined it in the 1970s and 80s.