LOS ANGELES — Continuing its 60th anniversary celebration, Playboy magazine is rolling out a special "Playboy A-Z" lexicon supplement in its May edition.
Edited and produced by creative director Neville Wakefield, the86-page feature offers a unique take on the ideological, sexual, political and aesthetic philosophies that Hugh Hefner and Playboy's editorial team have stood behind since the magazine's inception. A selection of content is also available on Kinja.
"We handpicked Neville Wakefield for this one-of-a-kind collaboration and offered him the opportunity to let his artistic vision run wild," editorial director Jimmy Jellinek said. "The final product is a truly unique supplement to our May issue which takes risks and pushes the envelope."
The special series of alphabetized content features a mix of essays, images, artwork, and pictorials by a diverse group of contributors, including British essayist A.A. Gill and cultural critic Camille Paglia; artists Richard Phillips and Richard Prince; authors Kelly Oxford and Christopher Ryan; and photographers Juergen Teller, Jim Krantz, Henrik Purienne, Jeff Burton and Hans Feurer.
"Playboy A-Z was created by people both fresh and familiar to the magazine, and we hope our lexicon entries add a surprising voice to the Playboy ethos," Wakefield said. "You'll find serious ideas butting up against frivolity, hedonism against intellect, and men against women.What our alphabet speaks to is a classic Playboy curiosity — the urge to look at the world in unaccustomed ways."