Jefferson Hack
Co-founder, editorial director and chief executive of Dazed Media
Jefferson Hack is the co-founder, editorial director and chief executive of Dazed Media, the London based independent media group behind Dazed, AnOther and Another Man. Since co-founding Dazed & Confused as a student in the early 1990s, he has built one of fashion and youth culture's most influential publishing and creative businesses.
| Role | Co-founder, editorial director and CEO, Dazed Media |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971, Montevideo |
| Founded | Dazed & Confused (early 1990s, with Rankin) |
| Launched | AnOther (2001), Another Man (2005), NOWNESS (2010) |
| Award | Fashion Awards 2022, Cultural Curation |
Who is Jefferson Hack?
Jefferson Hack, born in 1971 in Montevideo, Uruguay, is a publisher and editor who co-founded Dazed & Confused with the photographer Rankin while studying at the London College of Printing. He is co-founder, editorial director and chief executive of Dazed Media, which describes itself as the leading independent media group creating culture across fashion, music and art.
Career
Hack and Rankin launched Dazed & Confused in the early 1990s as a black and white, self-distributed publication positioned as an alternative to mainstream style magazines. Hack then expanded the business into a portfolio of titles and services:
- AnOther Magazine, a biannual luxury title, launched in 2001
- Another Man, a men's style title, co-founded in 2005
- NOWNESS, an independent luxury lifestyle video channel co-founded in 2010 in partnership with LVMH
- Dazed Studio, the group's creative agency, launched in 2013
- A rebrand of Dazed & Confused as simply Dazed in 2014
In 2017 Dazed Media and Modern Media formed a joint venture, Modern Dazed, which took a majority stake in NOWNESS. In 2016 Rizzoli published his book We Can't Do This Alone: Jefferson Hack the System. At The Fashion Awards 2022 he received the Special Recognition Award for Cultural Curation.
Jefferson Hack and digital media
Hack was an early mover in turning print titles into digital brands. Between 2006 and 2017 the group built out dazeddigital.com, anothermag.com and anothermanmag.com, and NOWNESS was launched as a video first platform. The Business of Fashion reports that he regards the traditional model of monthly magazines and seasonal trends as outdated, and notes that he applied open source principles to publishing by supporting networks of contributors. Today Dazed Media reports a global monthly audience of 110 million and operates brands including Dazed Beauty, Dazed Club and regional editions such as Dazed Korea and Dazed MENA.
Influence on the fashion business
Dazed and AnOther have long served as early platforms for emerging designers, photographers and stylists, many of whom later moved into leading houses. Through Dazed Studio the group also works directly with brands, reflecting the convergence of editorial, content production and marketing.
Why it matters
Hack's career shows how an independent publisher can build a multi-platform business by staying close to youth culture. For fashion brands, Dazed Media is both a discovery channel for new talent and a model of how editorial credibility can be extended into video, events and creative services.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Jefferson Hack?
Jefferson Hack is the co-founder, editorial director and chief executive of Dazed Media. He co-founded Dazed & Confused with Rankin in the early 1990s and later launched AnOther Magazine and Another Man.
What is NOWNESS?
NOWNESS is a luxury lifestyle video channel that Jefferson Hack co-founded in 2010 in partnership with LVMH. In 2017 a joint venture between Dazed Media and Modern Media, Modern Dazed, took a majority stake in it.