Luis Venegas

Luis Venegas is a Spanish editor and publisher of five independent, limited edition magazines: Fanzine137, EY! Magateen, Candy, The Printed Dog and EY! Boy. He is also a creative director who has worked with luxury brands such as Loewe, Acne, Carolina Herrera and J.W.Anderson.

Early career

Luis' career started in Paris in 1996 when he was working as a designer for Thierry Mugler. In 1999, he moved to Madrid to work for Spanish fashion designer Sybilla as Creative Director of Communications until 2005.

Fanzine137 In 2004, the first issue of Fanzine137 was born, with a limited edition run of 1,137 copies. The magazine is a collection of Luis Venegas’ objects of attraction at the specific time of publication.

The list of contributors of Fanzine137 has included Steven Klein, Terry Richardson, Alasdair McLellan, Ryan McGinley, Christian Lacroix, Javier Vallhonrat, Tom Ford, Rodarte, Richard Prince, Tim Walker, Larry Clark, Gus Van Sant, plus interviews with Linda Evangelista, Bruce Weber, Juergen Teller, Carolina Herrera, Joe McKenna, Grace Coddington and Oliver Zahm among others. It has also posthumously presented portfolios by photographers such as Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts and Francesco Scavullo.

Issue Date Title 1.137 September 2004 Anything Goes 3.137 May 2005 Corps Et Âme 5.137 May 2006 Heartbeats Accelerating 7.137 October 2006 The Sweet & Subtle Issue 9.137 April 2007 Unforgettable Faces 11.137 November 2007 We Are The World 13.137 June 2008 Ladies & Gentlemen (Vol.1) 15.137 March 2009 Ladies & Gentlemen (Vol.2) 17.137 May 2011 The Black & White Issue

EY! Magateen Venegas launched his second magazine, EY! Magateen in Spring 2008. The magazine was originally called Electric Youth!. The title of the magazine makes homage to Debbie Gibson’s 1989 song Electric Youth, taken from the album with the same name.thumb EY! Magateen addresses the energy, power and vitality of young males, most of them aged between 16 and 21 years. Each new issue is about a specific country or a city and is limited to just 1000 copies. The group of young people on display in EY! Magateen is a mix of handsome unknowns: mostly models, emerging artists, actors and athletes. The magazine features quirky comments and suggestive nudity.

Issues 6, 7 and 8 featured collaborations with American Apparel.

Issue Date Title 1 Spring 2008 Spain by Daniel Riera 2 Fall 2008 United Kingdom by Alasdair McLellan 3 Winter 2008-2009 USA West Coast by Doug Inglish 4 Spring-Summer 2009 Argenteena by Steven Klein 5 Winter 2009-2010 Germany by Kira Bunse 6 Summer 2010 New Kids On The World 7 Summer 2011 Brazil by Marcelo Krasilcic 8 Summer 2012 Spain by Xevi Muntané 9 Spring 2014 New York by Steven Klein

Candy

Venegas’ third magazine, Candy was launched in October 2009. According to its slogan it is The First Transversal Style Magazine. Following the tradition of his other two magazines, Candy has an exclusive limited edition run of 1500 copies. It is a fashion and art magazine completely dedicated to celebrating transvestism, trans-sexuality, crossdressing and androgyny. The title of the magazine makes homage to Candy Darling.

Unlike other publications related to the LGBT community, which generally advocate for rights form a political standpoint, Candy stands out as a celebration of this lifestyle. For Venegas, “Candy isn't about rights, but I do think the fact it [Candy] exists helps.” In an interview with The New York Times, Venegas made his statement clear:

Photographers like Bruce Weber, Terry Richardson, Steven Klein, Tim Walker, David Armstrong, Ellen von Unwerth, Ryan McGinley, Walter Pfeiffer, Juan Gatti, Daniel Riera or Danielle Levitt and writers like Tim Blanks, Derek Blasberg or Hilton Als -among others- are regular contributors.

For the launch of the second issue, Venegas collaborated with Swedish design house Acne, creating a limited run of unisex blouses named after characters from the American soap opera, Dynasty.

Issues 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 had a single cover printed, with the 8th issue's being a gatefold cover. All other issues had multiple different covers, some featuring the same person on the cover (issues 5 and 9, featuring Connie Fleming and Miley Cyrus, respectively), others with different people on each different cover (issues 10 onwards). For issues 9 through 13, the number of different covers matches the issue number.

Issue Date Cover(s) Notes 1 Winter 2009-2010 Luke Worral photographed by Brett Lloyd 2 Winter 2010-2011 James Franco photographed by Terry Richardson Features tributes to Divine and Christine Jorgensen, a photo essay by Bruce Weber, and interviews with Amanda Lepore, Kembra Pfahler, and Valentijn de Hingh. Venegas also appears in drag as Anna Wintour. 3 Winter 2011-2012 Chlöe Sevigny photographed by Terry Richardson 4 Summer 2012 Tilda Swinton photographed by Xevi Muntané "The Extra Extravagance Issue." Swinton is interviewed by Hilton Als. Features a makeup story by Kabuki, and interviews with Olivia Newton-John, The Lady Chablis, and Patricia Field. 5 Winter 2012-2013 Connie Fleming photographed by Danielle Levitt The issue had two covers; one featuring Connie Fleming holding a U.S.A. flag, the other with her holding her hand on a bible. Includes a tribute to Candy Darling featuring the complete series and contact sheets of Peter Hujar's photograph "Candy Darling on Her Deathbed" published for the first time. 6 Summer 2013 Jared Leto photographed by Terry Richardson 7 Winter 2013-2014 Lady Gaga photographed by Steven Klein Marilyn Manson photographed by Steven Klein 8 Winter 2014-2015 Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, Carmen Carrera, Geena Rocero, Isis King, Gisele Alicea, Leyna Bloom, Dina Marie, Nina Poon, Juliana Huxtable, Niki M'nray, Pêche Di, Yasmine Petty, and Carmen Xtravaganza photographed by Mariano Vivanco Dubbed "The Role Models" cover 9 2016 Miley Cyrus photographed by Terry Richardson The issue has 9 different covers, all featuring Miley Cyrus in different poses: Miley licking armpit Miley wearing a white bodysuit saying "My pussy my choice" Miley dressed as a topless police officer sucking on a baton Miley dressed in military camouflage pants and a yellow t-shirt saying "Women Marines" while licking her wrist Miley topless doing V sign with her tongue out (signifying cunnilingus) Miley wearing black boots and bending over licking a strap-on dildo she's wearing Miley squatting in short shorts with two fingers in her mouth Miley topless bending backwards while smoking Miley naked holding a white cat in front of her face 10 2017 Hari Nef photographed by Nan Goldin Guest Editor Hari Nef. Includes a 48 page supplement made in collaboration with LOEWE titled "A Closer Look", by Steven Meisel. Dara photographed by Inez and Vinoodh Amiyah Scott photographed by Thomas McCarthy Andreja Pejic photographed by Terry Richardson Triana Seville photographed by Pierre-Ange Carlotti Connie Fleming photographed by Ethan James Green Audrey Marnay photographed by Leon Mark Avie Acosta photographed by Santiago & Mauricio Torraine Futurum photographed by Lia Clay Hari Nef + Andrés Velencoso photographed by Sebastian Faena 11 2018 Agosto Machado photographed by Ryan McGinley Elliot Fletcher photographed by Amos Mac A Tribute to Greer Lankton photographed by Michael Bailey-Gates Rain Dove photographed by Cole Sprouse EJ Johnson photographed by Greg Gorman Stevie photographed by Lia Clay Salvia photographed by Toyin Ibidapo Joseph Ntahilaja photographed by Kristin-Lee Moolma Jamie Wilson photographed by Thurstan Redding Hari Nef photographed by Matt Holmes Octavia St. Laurent photographed by Brian Lantelme 12 2019 Aquaria photographed by Diego Villarreal Includes a feature on the photography of Mariette Pathy Allen, previously unpublished Polaroids of Amanda Lepore by Mel Ottenberg, and interviews with Jackie Shane, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Erika Ervin, and Joey Gabriel with photographs by Nan Goldin and images of Gabriel's personal scrapbooks. Tilda Swinton + Harry Freegard photographed by Matt Lambert Teddy Quinlivan photographed by Katerina Jebb Arca photographed by Daniel Riera Joey Gabriel photographed by Sunny Suits Hanne Gaby Odiele photographed by Mat + Kat Mj Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Dominique Jackson, and Janet Mock photographed by Luke Gilford Jazzelle photographed by Louie Banks Bryce Anderson photographed by Michael Bailey-Gates Jamie Clayton photographed by Lia Clay Amanda Lepore photographed by Mel Ottenberg Josh Lavery photographed by Zack Bayly 13 Spring 2021 Arca photographed by Luis Venegas Includes features about Billy Tipton and The Cockettes; art by Jimmy Wright and Hugh Steers; a tribute to Sylvester; photographs by Byron Newman from his Ultimate Angels series; photographs by Barry Kay from his 1976 book As a Woman, and interviews with Erika Hilton, Jimmy Paulette, the stars of Veneno, and Beverly Glenn-Copeland. Matthew Williams photographed by Leïla Smara Daniela Santiago photographed by Alfredo Santamaría Bretman Rock photographed by Diego Villarreal Dustin Muchuvitz, Raya Martigny, Inès Rau, Zya Iman, and Nix Lecourt photographed by Louie Banks Frank Ayzenberg photographed by Thibault-Theodore Jimmy Paulette photographed by Nan Goldin Richie Shazam's self-portrait Michael Bailey-Gates's self-portrait Wesley Tucker photographed by Doug Inglish Aaron Rose Philip and Jake Junkins photographed by Mat + Kat Pabllo Vittar photographed by Bryan Huynh Amory Dahl photographed by Jack Pierson in collaboration with Tabboo! 14 Summer 2022 Alexis Stone as Barbra Streisand photographed by Louie Banks Includes interviews with Elvira by Valeria Vegas and Lypsinka by Simon Doonan with tributes to David Armstrong, International Chrysis, and Candy Darling Transgendertrucks + Arca (self-portrait) RuPaul photographed by Richard Renaldi Alex Consani photographed by Bryce Anderson Elvyra photographed by Greg Gorman Jane, Erica and Ella photographed by Michael Bailey-Gates Crystal Love photographed by Zac Bayly Zholie, Charlie, Cici, Jake and Alaska photographed by Emilio Tamez Gottmik photographed by Carlos Darder Lypsinka photographed by Jeff Bark Ella Snyder photographed by Diego Villarreal Alok photographed by Camila Falquez 15 2025 Candy Darling photographed by Jack Mitchell Tilda Swinton photographed by Daniel Riera Mel Ottenberg photographed by Trevor Stones Bibiana Fernández photographed by Daniel Riera Hunter Piper photographed by Anthony Berarco Saturn Risin9 photographed by Paul Mpagi Sepuya Lily photographed by Angalis Field The Coven photographed by Ryan McGinley Nussy Andrews photographed by Torbjørn Rødland Aidan daSilva photographed by Geelherme Christopher Smith's self-portrait Arca photographed by Filip Custic Connie Fleming photographed by Claudio Robles Hari Nef and Ludwig Hurtado photographed by Claudio Robles Amanda Lepore photographed by Claudio Robles

In 2020 Venegas edited THE C☆NDY BOOK OF TRANSVERSAL CREATIVITY celebrating the 10th anniversary of the magazine. With the subtitle THE BEST OF C☆NDY TRANSVERSAL MAGAZINE, ALLEGEDLY, the book is a compilation that includes photography and art from over 100 artists from the first 12 issues, as well as new writings reflecting on the magazine's cultural impact.

Other projects Invited by Christian Lacroix in 2008 he was a judge for the prestigious photography festival Rencontres d’Arles alongside Elisabeth Biondi, Caroline Issa & Masoud Golsorkhi, Nathalie Ours and Carla Sozzani.

As a Creative Director in Spring 2012 he directed a video for the launch of Loewe’s Oro Collection which became popular and highly controversial in Spain. As a result, the collection sold out and it turned out to be the best seller of the year for the LVMH's Spanish brand.

In 2013 he took part as a panelist for a Fashion Seminar in Helsinki curated by Daniel Thawley in which also participated Marc Ascoli, Michel Gaubert, Jonathan Anderson, Benjamin Bruno and Karen van Godtsenhoven held at the Aalto University.

Venegas has also DJ’d in various venues around the world including Plastic in Milan, George & Dragon and Bistrotheque in London, Razzmatazz in Barcelona, Kaiku in Helsinki and at the Boom Boom Room in New York City.

He occasionally is a professor in Madrid and Barcelona.