Why am I covering this you may ask. Simple: because I want to. This is a magazine that I stumbled upon by mistake after finding the publisher’s site by happenstance. It’s not something I’ve ever spotted on store shelves and it comes off as niche, indie-ish publication. The magazine is thick (130 pages) and feels of a high quality in terms of papers. Oh and it’s full of partially nude women as you’ve no doubt guessed. This isn’t a lewd publication though.
Sixty6 magazine slots into a perfect niche. The entire magazine is full-page photos and double-page spreads for the most part. No words and no bullshit “mens” articles that the likes of FHM and Maxim publish (or used to publish in the case of FHM). The only words here are links to the models’ Instagram and Facebook pages and the credits of the photographers. It’s raw and unpretentious and I like it.
On the other hand, this isn’t like one of those cheap lad’s mags such as Nuts or Zoo. Those rags also featured topless, sexy models but being honest, the expressions were usually that of ‘forced’ sexy, the shoots flooded with unnatural light and touched up before printing. Such magazines also came off as a bit seedy and trashy with terrible “advice” and crappy articles on “bloke” stuff that nobody bought the magazines to read in the first place. Here, in Sixty6, the photos are more natural and feature models who want to be there and are enjoying themselves, not necessarily because it’s just another job. The photography is on-point and leans towards the artistic and creative rather than blunt and unispired.
Don’t get me wrong, I bought this random issue from ebay to see what it was about and because it features beautiful women in a state of undress. Let’s not bullshit. However, it’s a clear step above the overtly lewd or tacky alternatives of the past and simply raw and honest in what it is. I’ve seen these sorts of magazines described as “lookbooks” or coffee table fodder. I’m not sure I’d agree with the latter but I’d definitely consider picking up a few more issues. The blurb inside the front cover describes Sixty6 magazine as a “celebration of the female form” and I think that’s a perfect way of putting it.
