Review: Qlix

Qlix is an emerging fashion magazine with a difference: it arrives in an envelope, filled with a variety of different formats, and unexpected quirks.

It’s the creation of Tenisha Anderson, who currently works for Maxim magazine. She was inspired by Spanish multi-format art magazine La Mas Bella, a publication that she encountered at Colophon2009.

The centrepiece of the current issue, which actually came out during the summer and is themed Fantasy, is a huge fold-out poster, containing a selection of small stories in between the folds. Each has its own headline typography, chosen to match the story.

Fashion shoots and illustration fill large single sheets. Good for your wall, but not so good for narrative flow. It’s difficult to tell a continuous story in such a large format.

Brands and designers are highlighted on a selection of cards, with images on one side and interviews on the other.

And, just like its digital brethren, it includes an app to help increase the font size.

Though its format is playful, Qlix doesn’t have too much more to offer. The content itself is a little predictable, and doesn’t have that crucial insider feel that fashion thrives on. Some of it reads more like a fan’s tribute to fashion, from the outside looking in, rather than a fashion mag itself.

This is only issue 2, and the publication seems to be a one-person creation on the part of Anderson, which is a heck of an achievement in itself. Where it succeeds, the format helps tell stories of upcoming designers in refreshing ways that static pages can’t match. For me, however, that hasn’t happened enough so far to make it a genuine success.