Alex Wiederin (*1971)
The design of new and the redesign of established international fashion magazines, the development of corporate designs for glamorous fashion labels and cooperation on global campaigns with stars from the world of photography are the focus of the work of the Austrian designer Alex Wiederin, who has been running his Buero New York in the city on the Hudson River since 2001. As an art director who reads every text before developing the accompanying layouts, Wiederin is something of an exception, combining the attention of detail of the typographer with the scenographic talent of the film director. His magazine designs and editorials are formally clear and contentually complex. Each image is a painstakingly composed essential part of the story. Wiederin also uses the freedom of the fashion world to irritate: in his current campaign for the jeweller David Webb, the bejewelled woman plays with a hand puppet which bears an unmistakeable likeness to the photographer Terry Richardson. For one ironic moment the model is no longer the marionette of the photographer and the roles have been reversed. The styling is the work of former Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld, whose legendary reputation has just been cemented by a book designed by Alex Wiederin.