Hard Pack #6
212 x 274 mm, 200 pages
New York, USA
First published 2023
Biannual
Founder and editor: Zach Seely
Creative direction and design: Brendan Dunne and Ken Tokunaga
Named after the condition of fresh snow tightly compressing (as opposed to the oft sought after soft, powdery kind), Hard Pack is a new skiing title aiming to ‘uncover and promote alternative ways to think about skiing, both new and forgotten.’ It’s an ethos that translates well through the sophisticatedly designed (and almost snow-hued) pages of this niche but necessary, fashion-meets-slopes title. All pairing well with the rather cinematic, alpine photography.
This sixth edition is dedicated to the late fashion director Benoit Martinengo, an integral part of the Hard Pack team since its early days, who’s vision helped shape the magazine’s visual and cultural language.
An ode to Martinengo’s eye for the marriage of fashion and sports, this issue features his final story photographed by Estévez and Belloso; skier Addison Rafford and photographer Cecilia Hatschek on creating cyanotypes; Richard Welch in conversation with Jack Smith, printed on silver paper; David Horowitz on the mythologies surrounding Leni Riefenstahl; striking photo essays by Felix Dol Maillot, Cornelius Kaess and Cole Barash; plus, mountain cabin erotica by Walker Rutter-Bowman.