# Jefferson Hack
**Jefferson Hack** (born 1971) is a British editor, publisher, and creative director who co-founded the magazine *Dazed & Confused* with the photographer Rankin in 1991 and built it into Dazed Media, an independent media company whose titles include *Dazed*, *AnOther Magazine*, *Another Man*, and the video channel Nowness.[1](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jefferson_hack) • [2](https://www.novembermag.com/content/jefferson-hack/) He is the co-founder, editorial director, and chief executive of Dazed Media, and is known for championing emerging talent in fashion, art, music, and youth culture over more than three decades.[1](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jefferson_hack) • [3](https://www.wearecreative.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Profile-for-Chair-of-Creative-UK-Investment-2022-Final.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971, Montevideo, Uruguay; raised in Kent, England[4](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/17/new-year-new-cool-media) |
| Signature venture | Co-founded *Dazed & Confused* with Rankin in 1991; the title dropped "& Confused" and became *Dazed*[5](https://www.dazeddigital.com/info/article/824/1/dazed-confused) • [2](https://www.novembermag.com/content/jefferson-hack/) |
| Later titles | *AnOther Magazine* (2001) and *Another Man* (2005); co-created the video channel Nowness with LVMH, in which Dazed Media and Modern Media formed the joint venture Modern Dazed and acquired a majority stake in 2017[3](https://www.wearecreative.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Profile-for-Chair-of-Creative-UK-Investment-2022-Final.pdf) • [6](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/jefferson-hack-editor-revista-dazed-confused-dazed-media.html) • [19](https://www.rizzoliusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/FA21-Catalog-Final.pdf) |
| Role | Co-founder, CEO, and editorial director of Dazed Media, headquartered in London[1](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jefferson_hack) • [6](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/jefferson-hack-editor-revista-dazed-confused-dazed-media.html) |
| Reach | *Dazed* is published six times a year and distributed in 41 countries, with offices in London and South Korea[7](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/Fashion/jefferson-hack-the-future-of-fashion-is-full-of-jeopardy-1.2474175) |
| Recognition | Special Recognition Award for Cultural Curation at the British Fashion Council's 2022 Fashion Awards[8](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2022/jul/16/british-fashion-recognises-tastemaker-behind-dazed-confused-magazine) |
## Early life and education
Hack was born in [Montevideo](https://www.edgepedia.org/montevideo), Uruguay, where his father worked as a cigarette salesman; the family also lived in Singapore and Belgium before settling in the United Kingdom when Hack was nine.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/17/new-year-new-cool-media) He spent his childhood and teenage years in Kent, in the coastal towns of Cliffsend and Ramsgate.[1](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jefferson_hack) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/17/new-year-new-cool-media)
He moved to London at 18 to study at the London College of Printing, now part of the [University of the Arts London](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-the-arts-london) and known as the London College of Communication.[1](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jefferson_hack) • [2](https://www.novembermag.com/content/jefferson-hack/) In his own account he did not complete the course: he enrolled in a one-year journalism program, found it uninspiring, and dropped out after about a term.[2](https://www.novembermag.com/content/jefferson-hack/) The school mattered for a different reason. Rankin, then a third-year photography student, came to a class to recruit for the student magazine, and the two met in the student union canteen.[2](https://www.novembermag.com/content/jefferson-hack/)
## Dazed & Confused
**Founding.** In 1991, while still students, Hack and Rankin launched *Dazed & Confused* as an alternative style and culture magazine.[5](https://www.dazeddigital.com/info/article/824/1/dazed-confused) The first version was a self-published, self-distributed foldout poster, financed in part by money from Rankin's parents.[2](https://www.novembermag.com/content/jefferson-hack/) • [9](https://www.thefashionspot.com/style-trends/20803-style-snapshot-jefferson-hack) A year passed between the first and second issues.[2](https://www.novembermag.com/content/jefferson-hack/) Some accounts date the founding to 1992, when Hack was 19; most, including Dazed's own history page, give 1991.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/17/new-year-new-cool-media) • [9](https://www.thefashionspot.com/style-trends/20803-style-snapshot-jefferson-hack) • [5](https://www.dazeddigital.com/info/article/824/1/dazed-confused)
The magazine became a defining voice of 1990s youth culture, distinguished by what one profile calls its raw energy, subcultural insight, and disruptive approach to fashion and photography.[1](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jefferson_hack) With Hack as editor, *Dazed* became one of the first publications to integrate fashion, music, art, and culture reporting, a model that later spread through alternative culture journalism.[2](https://www.novembermag.com/content/jefferson-hack/) Early contributors and subjects included Sam Taylor-Wood, Alexander McQueen, and Jake and Dinos Chapman.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/17/new-year-new-cool-media) The stylist Katie Grand, Hack and Rankin's first collaborator, joined soon after the launch, and none of the founding team had prior experience in publishing.[10](https://businessoffashion-businessoffashion-prod.web.arc-cdn.net/articles/news-analysis/the-school-of-dazed/) • [2](https://www.novembermag.com/content/jefferson-hack/) The magazine's guest editors have included [Alexander McQueen](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexander-mcqueen), Björk, Charli XCX, and [Chelsea Manning](https://www.edgepedia.org/chelsea-manning).[2](https://www.novembermag.com/content/jefferson-hack/)
In 1993 the operation moved to a run-down office in Soho, and the quarterly magazine was financed through parties held under its own name; brands then began investing in the title.[6](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/jefferson-hack-editor-revista-dazed-confused-dazed-media.html) In 2001 Hack handed the editorship to his deputy Rachel Newsome.[9](https://www.thefashionspot.com/style-trends/20803-style-snapshot-jefferson-hack) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2001/sep/16/features.magazine27) The magazine is now called simply *Dazed* and appears six times a year rather than twelve.[7](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/Fashion/jefferson-hack-the-future-of-fashion-is-full-of-jeopardy-1.2474175)
## Dazed Media and later ventures
Hack expanded the magazine into Dazed Media, an independent publishing house that also runs a creative consultancy studio and provides distribution services to other publications.[12](https://1granary.com/interviews/business-insiders/jefferson-hack) In 2001 he launched the luxury bi-annual *AnOther Magazine*, whose cover stars have included [Natalie Portman](https://www.edgepedia.org/natalie-portman), Solange, Tilda Swinton, Jodie Foster, Ruth Negga, Marion Cotillard, and [Scarlett Johansson](https://www.edgepedia.org/scarlett-johansson); in 2005 he co-founded the men's style title *Another Man*.[3](https://www.wearecreative.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Profile-for-Chair-of-Creative-UK-Investment-2022-Final.pdf)
He also moved into digital early, pioneering DazedDigital.com and co-founding Nowness, a luxury video channel created in partnership with LVMH; in 2017 he bought the platform outright from the holding company.[1](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jefferson_hack) • [6](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/jefferson-hack-editor-revista-dazed-confused-dazed-media.html) In 2021 he launched Dazed Club and its companion app, a membership platform connecting creatives through events, opportunities, and competitions.[5](https://www.dazeddigital.com/info/article/824/1/dazed-confused) The company's in-house agency, Dazed Studio, produces campaigns for brands in the luxury and lifestyle sectors; its client list has included Chanel, Armani, Nike, Swarovski, and Dunhill.[5](https://www.dazeddigital.com/info/article/824/1/dazed-confused) • [7](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/Fashion/jefferson-hack-the-future-of-fashion-is-full-of-jeopardy-1.2474175)
**Technology-driven publishing.** Hack has repeatedly used new display technology on magazine covers. In 2016 *AnOther Magazine* carried what he describes as the first full-screen LCD magazine cover, a moving image of Rihanna produced with the technology company PCH after a meeting with its Irish founder Liam Casey; the issue included a 45-minute soundtrack for headphone listening.[7](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/Fashion/jefferson-hack-the-future-of-fashion-is-full-of-jeopardy-1.2474175) He has also worked with artificial intelligence, using an AI-generated cover for his 2016 book and an AI-distorted image of [Kylie Jenner](https://www.edgepedia.org/kylie-jenner) for the inaugural cover of Dazed Beauty.[13](https://www.jeffersonhack.com/press/grazia-italy-jefferson-hack-by-tom-dixon/)
## Books and other work
Hack's published books include *Star Culture: Collected Interviews from Dazed & Confused Magazine* (Phaidon, 2000, with Mark Sanders), the *AnOther* series of fashion, portrait, and art books, *Dazed and Confused: Making it Up as We Go Along*, *Dazed: 30 Years Confused*, and *We Can't Do This Alone: Jefferson Hack The System* (Rizzoli, 2016), a book he describes as a toolkit for independent thinking that includes an unedited email correspondence with Björk and a self-interview [Thom Yorke](https://www.edgepedia.org/thom-yorke) conducted for *Dazed & Confused* in 1996.[14](https://www.jeffersonhack.com/published/) • [15](https://www.jeffersonhack.com/article/we-cant-do-this-alone-hack-the-system/)
Since 2013 he has been a creative director with U2, contributing to the band's video "Every Breaking Wave," directed by [Aoife McArdle](https://www.edgepedia.org/aoife-mcardle) and shot in Belfast.[7](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/Fashion/jefferson-hack-the-future-of-fashion-is-full-of-jeopardy-1.2474175) He also hosts the podcast *Where It's At…*, whose second season features long-form conversations with figures including [Tilda Swinton](https://www.edgepedia.org/tilda-swinton) and [Mark Ronson](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-ronson) across music, fashion, film, and food.[16](https://www.dazeddigital.com/Jefferson-Hack)
## Recognition and influence
The British Fashion Council awarded Hack a Special Recognition Award for Cultural Curation at its 2022 Fashion Awards, citing him for empowering youth through creativity and creating opportunities for next-generation creatives across fashion, design, art, and music.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2022/jul/16/british-fashion-recognises-tastemaker-behind-dazed-confused-magazine) Profiles of his career emphasize the same theme: his role in launching and amplifying careers in fashion, art, and photography, and in keeping independent publishing commercially viable through the transition from print to digital.[1](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jefferson_hack)
Hack frames independence as the operating principle of his career. In a 2023 interview he argued that self-publishing and self-producing have become harder as culture has grown more corporate and technology-led, and described his ambition to help young talent build their own media brands, "almost open sourcing Dazed."[17](https://www.jeffersonhack.com/press/the-impression-jefferson-hack-building-the-future-for-creatives/) He has also argued that print retains a credibility that social media does not replace, noting that musicians, designers, and artists still want magazine covers over social media placement.[17](https://www.jeffersonhack.com/press/the-impression-jefferson-hack-building-the-future-for-creatives/)
## Personal life
Hack interviewed [Kate Moss](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-moss) for *Dazed & Confused* and later became her partner; their daughter, Lila Grace, was born in 2002, and the couple separated about two years later.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/17/new-year-new-cool-media) A 1998 first-person account by his assistant in *The Independent* describes a deliberately non-hierarchical office in which Hack, then the magazine's editor, was frequently mistaken for a junior staffer because of his youthful appearance.[18](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/i-work-for-jefferson-hack-1150862.html)
## References
1. [Jefferson Hack, Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jefferson_hack)
2. [Jefferson Hack, November Magazine interview (October 2023)](https://www.novembermag.com/content/jefferson-hack/)
3. [Profile for Chair of Creative UK Investment 2022, Creative UK](https://www.wearecreative.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Profile-for-Chair-of-Creative-UK-Investment-2022-Final.pdf)
4. [Jefferson Hack: is he the coolest man in Britain?, The Guardian (16 January 2010)](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/17/new-year-new-cool-media)
5. [Dazed & Confused: A State of Independence, Dazed (10 August 2008)](https://www.dazeddigital.com/info/article/824/1/dazed-confused)
6. [Jefferson Hack, el editor al que nadie le dijo nunca «no», S Moda / El País (10 November 2022)](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/jefferson-hack-editor-revista-dazed-confused-dazed-media.html)
7. [Jefferson Hack: 'The future of fashion is full of jeopardy', The Irish Times (8 January 2016)](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/Fashion/jefferson-hack-the-future-of-fashion-is-full-of-jeopardy-1.2474175)
8. [British fashion recognises 'tastemaker' behind Dazed & Confused magazine, The Guardian (16 July 2022)](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2022/jul/16/british-fashion-recognises-tastemaker-behind-dazed-confused-magazine)
9. [Style Snapshot: Jefferson Hack, theFashionSpot (16 June 2009)](https://www.thefashionspot.com/style-trends/20803-style-snapshot-jefferson-hack)
10. [The School of Dazed, The Business of Fashion](https://businessoffashion-businessoffashion-prod.web.arc-cdn.net/articles/news-analysis/the-school-of-dazed/)
11. [The hack pack, The Observer (16 September 2001)](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2001/sep/16/features.magazine27)
12. [Dazed Founder Jefferson Hack, a Lifetime of Breaking New Grounds, 1 Granary (2 February 2019)](https://1granary.com/interviews/business-insiders/jefferson-hack)
13. [Grazia Italy: Jefferson Hack by Tom Dixon, jeffersonhack.com](https://www.jeffersonhack.com/press/grazia-italy-jefferson-hack-by-tom-dixon/)
14. [Published, jeffersonhack.com](https://www.jeffersonhack.com/published/)
15. [We Can't Do This Alone: Jefferson Hack The System, jeffersonhack.com](https://www.jeffersonhack.com/article/we-cant-do-this-alone-hack-the-system/)
16. [Jefferson Hack, Dazed contributor page](https://www.dazeddigital.com/Jefferson-Hack)
17. [Jefferson Hack: Building the Future for Creatives, The Impression via jeffersonhack.com](https://www.jeffersonhack.com/press/the-impression-jefferson-hack-building-the-future-for-creatives/)
18. [i work for ... Jefferson Hack, The Independent (18 March 1998)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/i-work-for-jefferson-hack-1150862.html)
19. [FA21 Catalog Final.pdf, rizzoliusa.com](https://www.rizzoliusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/FA21-Catalog-Final.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Periodicals and publishing › Magazines › Magazine industry › Magazine publishing people*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license