Sepp Magazine is an exercise by FIFA in combining fashion and lifestyle with football. It Takes its name from outgoing FIFA President Sepp Blatter. The Magazine explores the issues surrounding football, fashion, life and the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. This is done in a surprisingly insightful  way by some of the best photographers and art directors. Sepp Magazine is edited by Markus Ebner and fashion journalist Godfrey Deeny. It is art directed by the talented Mirko Borsche.

For the current installment of Sepp, which hit newsstands this week, Ebner marshaled several fashion luminaries. Ellen von Unwerth contributes photographs of Germany’s rising soccer stars. Karl Lagerfeld dreams—and draws—himself into the game in a series of idiosyncratic watercolors where he drew some of his favorite stars, like Ribery, Kaka and Wayne Rooney, Argentine icon Maradona is rendered by Anna Sui and Clinique collaborator Hiroshi Tanabe. Henrique Gendre portraits models from Brazil posing in the country’s playing colors, as well as architectural photographs of host nation South Africa’s new stadiums and some of the world’s greatest fashion designers created their very own football uniforms. It seems that among them there is also a mini dress football outfit for the national football team of The Netherlands (Oranje). These designer football outfits where shot by Rene Habermacher for this issue.

On paper, high fashion and football are unlikely companions but the team behind Sepp Magazine have turned this project into a fascinating and engaging ultra-glossy biennial.

Photos: Sepp Magazine and Nowness  | Verlag Neunundsechzig | FIFA World Cup in South Africa