The joy of creative freedom leads five German EICs to collaborate on a magazine

An unusual and intriguing project is taking place at  Condé Nast Germany in which the editors in chief of five of its leading publications collaborate on a 200-page magazine called Shokunin. The magazine will have a press run of 800,000 and be a supplement to all five -- Vogue, Glamour, Myself, GQ and AD.

According to a story from WWD, 

“Shokunin” is generally translated from the Japanese as craftsman or artisan but it is a term which also implies commitment to providing society with something of value and excellence. The publication will be organized in five sections — Clever, Radical, Poetic, Sexy and Refined — the contents aiming for a free-wheeling and interdisciplinary mix of visuals and text. Prior to publication, readers can follow the project on the blog (Shokunin.condenast.de). In addition, Condé Nast is offering mentorships for up-and-coming journalists and graphic designers in connection with the Shokunin project. 

“The motivation for this project is the joy of exercising creative freedom,” said Moritz von Laffert, president of Condé Nast Germany. “Making readers and users aware of the value of carefully made media is an indirect goal of the project — and there has never been a better time to do so than right now,” he continued.

The magazine has five departments: Radical, Sexy, Poetic, Refined and Clever. The five editors Christiane Arp (Vogue), Sabine Hofmann (Myself), Oliver Jahn (AD Architectural Digest), Andrea Ketterer (GLAMOUR) and Jose Vega-Redondo (GQ Gentlemen's Quarterly).