Esquire Indonesia, 87th Editon (May 2014)

Esquire Indonesia 87th edition. Cover courtesy of Esquire.

Review
Jose Mourinho as the cover story is a wise and perfect choice because we already feel the atmosphere of the biggest soccer event. As we all know that in June 2014, FIFA World Cup will start and choosing one of the best soccer coaches as the cover story is a perfect choice. Plus the news about FIFA World Cup itself on page 152-153 is good, because it’s necessary to write about it on May issue, a month before it starts.

I’m quite entertained by the Short Story (Cerpen) section; it is a light reading that can boost the mood of the readers. The story itself includes traditional dancing and culture from Java, Indonesia that have their own meanings so we can obviously learn something from that.

The Style Runway section explains the exact amount of information that the readers need to know. For me the essence of a lifestyle magazine is to spread different information and knowledge in exact amount, and people want or need to know about that. Writing about Versace and Dolce & Gabbana Summer collection is also a wise choice because those brands have a lot of customers worldwide, and also they inspire another brand to create a collection like them (they have influence in the fashion industry). Even Dolce & Gabbana is currently facing a problem about tax; we can’t deny that their formal menswear is one of the bests.

Style Runway section featuring Versace and Dolce & Gabbana. Courtesy of Esquire.

The Esq. Style section on page 118-125 is perfect and since it’s taken from the U.S. Esquire April 2014 edition it has a different atmosphere or theme from the second shoot that is placed on page 126-133. The second section of Esq. Style, anyway, has great shots. They could be more interesting by adding a little artsy inspiration to the images so they could become equal with the first section of the shoots.

Flaws
Even though the magazine is perfect, I found a few flaws inside that are quite disturbing. First thing that I figure out is the mistyped page number. In the table of contents the cover story is written on page 114. But actually, the cover story is placed on page 144. It’s a small flaw, but it’s quite important since it’s the reader’s guide to find the cover story.

Second thing that I recognize is the placement of watches in Style Watches section, page 72-73. We all can see that the half-up of the pages have so much empty space. Maybe it could be fixed by rearranging the position of the watches, or by adding some props to cover the empty space.

Overall

Esq. Style section. Courtesy of Esquire.

This is a good issue. Beside things that I explain above, we can still get a lot of tips; from how to wash your jeans properly until knowing the importance of wearing perfume, plus how to choose the right one.  Introducing traditional culture to today’s society is one of the strong points. Esquire is still one of the best lifestyle magazines for men and this issue proves it.