A Mediterranean vision in platinum | Matthew Attard Navarro

Available online in various iterations since 2007, Platinum Love Magazine was a breath of fresh air for the Maltese publishing environment. Put together on a voluntary basis by eager young fashion- and culture-vultures, it tapped what was very much a contemporary vein, to present a publication that strove to be on par with international counterparts.

Spearheaded by Creative Director Matthew Attard Navarro, Platinum Love now aims to up its game.

On the occasion of its sixth anniversary, it will be releasing 'The Visionaires Edition' - a deluxe edition of the magazine which Attard Navarro aims to fund through the crowdfunding website Kickstarter, in an attempt to eschew compromises associated with standard avenues of funding.

Attard Navarro cites "lack of vision, lack of taste and nepotism," as the three factors affecting the Maltese cultural landscape scenario right now. But these negatives also served to galvanise him to create Platinum Love in the first place and, now, to take it to the next level.

"The Visionaires Edition will be a surreal issue tying in the Mediterranean landscape through the work of top international photographers and artists. It will use the Maltese islands as a landscape and juxtapose this against the work from international fashion editors and photographers upon one common theme, that of visionary influencers," Attard Navarro said.

The Visionaires Edition will be printed in Malta and distributed internationally "tying in international top photographers and artists to work on the publication and keep a Mediterranean context".

Attard Navarro added that all profits made from the publication will go toward the Platinum Foundation - a foundation being set up to fund Malta's first fashion research center.

Attard Navarro and his team hope to gather a total of £10,000 by August 21 in order to produce the 'coffee table' style publication, which will then be distributed only at boutique bookshops, agencies and galleries across the capital cities of Europe, in New York and Los Angeles, and by order. Those interested in helping the magazine become a reality are invited to 'pledge' anything from £10 to £800 - with goodies awaiting those who commit to the 'Visionaires' cause.

Despite - or perhaps because of - the globally depressed economic climate and the rise of free-of-charge internet publications, Attard Navarro is confident that a product like The Visionaires Edition is now more relevant than ever.

"Over the past few years there have been stand out publications that really managed to grow in such a declining market. While readers don't read magazines for the same reasons they did 10 to 15 years ago, we believe we know what attracts a new reader, while still making a print publication collectible," Attard Navarro says, comparing contemporary print magazines to "luxury perfumes, accessories or phones".

"If the magazine is worth reading, people will invest the necessary money and time, and they will feel proud to have done so."

In order to make one's magazine a desirable commodity, Attard Navarro resorts to the old adage: content is king.

"Content is the word that dominates the media now more than ever."

Find The Visonaires Edition Kickstarter campaign online.