"Nightlife is the soul of the city."

Purple Fashion's Olivier Zahm, who has fast become synonymous with T&A and a dash of haute couture, is the latest heavyweight to be featured in Style.com's ongoing series "The Future of Fashion." (Hedi Slimane's Q&A was prior.) In the interview, the scion of the Gainsbourg school of thought discusses his often NSFW blog, Purple Diary, as well as his French-made magazine. "What surprised me is the number of people coming, because I print 60,000 copies of Purple [a season] and I have 100,000 [weekly Web site visitors], more visitors a week on the blog than I have readers in one season with the magazine." But, while Zahm has figured out how to make money on the niche magazine, or at least break even, he has yet to monetize his online presence. "I haven’t found the right way to make a little money off it because I don’t want regular advertising ... but I haven’t found it yet and it’s not my priority."

The body consciousness especially prevalent in women's wear in recent seasons (no pants, transparency, and bandage styles for starters) is making its way into the men's department. Extreme cleavage isn't just for women hitting the runway or the red carpet anymore; men are following suit with what the Wall Street Journal is calling "heavage." "We wanted to go back to a more natural body, a more '70s body with the models, getting away from the super skinny," designer Michael Bastian told the newspaper -- exposed chest hair, décolletage, and, in some cases, full pecs when losing one's shirt altogether.

What do the designer-mimicking mavens at Forever 21 and Karl Lagerfeld have in common? Well, apparently they both love magazines -- starting their own, that is. Launching this Friday is the premiere issue of Forever 21's new fashion, beauty, and lifestyle magazine. "Each issue will include two to three features, a fashion gallery of looks with styling tips, coverage of trends available at Forever 21, street style, makeup and beauty tutorials, a lifestyle section including the latest in books/art/music, coverage of noteworthy Forever 21 collaborations, and an interview with a notable VIP," says Nitrolicious. In other words, the seasonal publication will likely follow much in the same vein as fellow fast-fashion mecca H&M's eponymous magazine (which is published four times a year and also showcased online).

In case you haven't gotten enough of Olivier Zahm and his T&A-filled photos, they're coming to the Lower East Side. The king of soft core-meets-couture is having his debut art show at NYC's Half Gallery. Opening December 1 and on view through the new year, the show is likely to feature many of the same photos one can find on Purple Fashion's blog, Purple Diary. Lots of naked ladies, hard-partying celebrities, and the occasional beautiful shot of a Parisian garden or NYC skyline.

Forever outfitted in Ray-Ban aviators, a head of unkempt brown curls, and some form of slim-fitting pant and snug jacket, Olivier Zahm -- co-founder and editor in chief of Paris' Purple Fashion magazine -- is a unique breed of provocateur. He's the one who put Vincent Gallo in a Balenciaga floral mini, Baptiste Giabiconi in “prostitute shoes,” not to mention the one who has photographed countless women nude, funneling their photos into both his quarterly magazine as well as his relatively new blog, The Purple Diary (where he may have accidentally blown the cover on a relaunched Beatrice Inn). But for a man who obviously has no qualms about speaking his mind and shaking things up, the after-hours fashion party fixture is decidedly press-shy. Perhaps he's just choosy or keen to generate an increasing air of mystery around himself and his mag. Nevertheless, a Japanese "high-fashion" magazine's recent interview with Zahm offers a rare glimpse of the editor.

I came across this photo yesterday on the Purple Diary and didn't much consider the caption: "[Graffiti artist] Andre in front of the soon to be reopened Beatrice Inn, New York." Fans of the shuttered speakeasy have been eagerly awaiting a revival since it was first padlocked back in April.