WX-Ray Catch Wave Magazine
VISIT A NEW PLANET WITH ISSUEZERO OF WX-RAY (CATCH WAVE MAGAZINE). GUY BOURDIN, HELMUT NEWTON, ELIO FIORUCCI, WET AND DAVID BOWIE NOT ONCE BUT TWICE. COSMO WAVES INDEED.
OMGenius! It's the most amazing magazine we had never seen from the single best year in the history of the planet... 1979* It's called WX-ray (catch wave magazine)
and quite brilliantly this issue, numbered 0, is the only one there ever was. It didn't even get to single figures! Over and out. Job done. Ciao. Sayonara! *NB. A full proof of the 1979 theory can be found here.
This Helmut Newton double page is brillantly composed. It folds out to reveal a four page herd of elephants! You have to see the full album to appreciate how good this one issue is.
This double page is an interview between WET magazine and Elio Fiorucci. That's two major influences for WX-ray
right there. We could also add Terry Jones' Not Another Punk Book
and The Picture Newspaper
and Alessandro Mendini's Alchimia. It's everything we like!
It's the inspired work of Harata Haikichi. He contributed to Shinjuko Play Map
in the 60s and then art directed the rock meets nudes magazine Heaven
in the 70s. In 1979 he set up his own design studio, WXY Inc, and WX-ray
was their graphic showcase. It was also a love letter to punk and Fiorucci, Guy Bourdin and Helmut Newton, and of course David Bowie.
We can't decide what we like more; Guy Bourdin for Charles Jourdin or the tasteful placement of a John Travolta portrait against the wall. OK, it's the latter. Could she just move her leg?
This double page is titled Cosmic Waves! Along with Visit A New Planet and Catch Wave, the magazine has super cool titles and sub-titles going spare. It also has four alternative covers. And as for the picture above. It looks like David Bowie stole the issue (again).