I think I made this magazine because I wanted more time with the work.
A lot of these editorials started as something I was doing for my Instagram, but after a while that did not feel enough. Some of the images were asking for another kind of space.
For me, shooting like this is part of my creative process. It is where I get to experiment, test ideas, meet people, talk, observe, and photograph someone with more attention. I like the details. The way light sits on a face. The way a person holds themselves. The small things that start to come through when there is no rush.
I wanted a place where that kind of work could live a little differently. NOT THAT MAG comes from that feeling. From wanting to slow the image down a little. To let people look longer. To give these stories more room than a post on a feed.
This first issue brings together three cover stories, different moods, and the beginning of something I wanted to build with more care.
NOT THAT MAG is based in New York, but really it starts with a simple idea: some images deserve more time.
Ton Gomes Founder and Editor
“What makes an editorial stay with you is rarely excess, but intention.”Rafa
“What we wear can open space for something deeper. Not performance, but presence.”Sergio
Cover story / 01
EduTozzi
Presence, made in Bahia.
Photography Ton Gomes Styling Sergio Silva Model Edu Tozzi, One Management New York
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Edu Tozzi01 / 08
Edu Tozzi02 / 08
Edu Tozzi03 / 08
Edu Tozzi04 / 08
Edu Tozzi05 / 08
Edu Tozzi06 / 08
Edu Tozzi07 / 08
Edu Tozzi08 / 08
Essay / Sergio Silva
Stop Performing.
Men accepting their femininity is more than a trend. It is a return to something that was always there but often suppressed.
For generations, masculinity was synonymous with restriction. Do not feel too much. Do not express too much. Do not be too soft. But people are starting to question that.
Femininity in men does not strip anything away. It adds range. It enables sensitivity, intuition, creativity, and emotional depth. It provides space for men to exist more fully instead of acting a very narrow version of themselves.
What we currently see is not men becoming something new. It is men allowing themselves to be whole. Wearing what they want. Feeling without shame. Moving beyond the belief that identity should fit into a rigid box.
There is also a quiet confidence in it. Taking a step away from expectations and choosing yourself anyway is an act of strength. A man who leans into his femininity is not seeking permission. He is redefining what power means for him, and that kind of self-possession is impossible to ignore.
The Portrait Session / Issue 001
Edu Tozzi
There is a calmness to Edu Tozzi that does not read as distance. It feels more like presence. Born in Bahia and now building a life beyond Brazil, he speaks about memory, change, identity, and the quieter discipline behind image.
The conversation
You come from Bahia, a place with such a strong cultural identity. What from that place still lives most intensely in you today?
Bahia still lives in me through the way I see life. There is a lightness to it, a deep connection to the sea, to spirituality, and to people. I grew up in a place where culture is alive, where music, faith, and joy are part of daily life. Even living abroad now, I feel that energy stays with me in the way I speak to people and in the value I give to relationships.
When you think about your childhood or teenage years, what memory still feels especially alive in you?
What feels most alive are the simple moments: being outside with friends, close to the ocean, feeling that freedom children have when the world seems huge and full of possibility. Those memories make me value the simple things in life even more today.
Building a life and career in another country can be rich, but also challenging. What has been most meaningful about that process?
The most meaningful part was realizing how much we grow when we leave our comfort zone. Changing countries makes you reinvent yourself in many ways. At first there is loneliness, cultural adaptation, and practical challenges, but at the same time it strengthens who you are.
What does success mean to you now?
Today, success has much more to do with balance. It means being able to build something professionally without losing who I am in the process.
How would you describe your personal style in everyday life?
In everyday life, I am very simple. I like comfortable, basic clothes, something with personality but that does not feel forced.
What do clothing and personal style help you express about who you are?
Clothing can be a form of expression. It communicates attitude, identity, and where you are in life.
Thinking about the man you are becoming, what feels most important to preserve?
I want to preserve my essence: my curiosity about life, my respect for people, my spirituality, and my ability to keep evolving without losing sensitivity.
Cover story / 02
RazakSalifou
Precision in motion.
Photography Ton Gomes Model Razak Salifou Agency Soul Artist Management, NYC Location New York
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Razak Salifou / Issue 001
Precision in motion.
Italian and Ghanaian, based in London, Razak brings a kind of elegance that does not need exaggeration. The image stays sharp because he does.
Some models dominate a frame through noise. Razak does the opposite.
What stands out is his control: posture, proportion, restraint.
Razak Salifou01 / 08
Razak Salifou02 / 08
Razak Salifou03 / 08
Razak Salifou04 / 08
Visual Notes / Issue 001
Fragments from the issue.
Crops, gestures, textures, and everything that lingers after the full story.
Razak Salifou05 / 08
Razak Salifou06 / 08
Razak Salifou07 / 08
Razak Salifou08 / 08
Style / Visual Culture
Why the '90s came back looking like JFK Jr.
A reflection on why the image came back, and why copying it too literally misses what made it work.
I keep thinking that maybe part of the appeal was exactly that he did not seem too concerned with building an image. Or at least he did not seem interested in looking like someone who was building one.
There is something very specific in the way he looked dressed. Not sloppy, not formal, not casual either. More like someone mixing the day he had with the rest of his life. A work shirt with something more ordinary. A blazer with a cap. Good trousers with shoes that did not feel precious.
It gave the impression that he got dressed to move through the city, not to be looked at in it.
Maybe that is why it still feels attractive now. Not because the clothes were revolutionary, but because the whole thing seemed unforced. Like he was trying to pass through the day without making too much of a point, even if the result ended up becoming a point anyway.
The problem is that a lot of people are now thinking too much about the JFK aesthetic as a finished Pinterest idea, and not enough about what made it convincing in the first place. The charm was never just the shirt, the blazer, or the haircut. It was the impression of a man who looked like he had other things on his mind.
When too many people try to copy it exactly, what is left is only the uniform. And maybe the most interesting thing about him was that he never seemed to dress like one.
Cover story / 03
SachaBilal
A face that lingers.
Photography Ton Gomes Styling Rafa Vida Grooming Nei Cruz Model Sacha Bilal, Soul Artist Management
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Sacha Bilal / Issue 001
A face that lingers.
French and Algerian, based in New York, Sacha has the kind of beauty that lands immediately. What keeps the image alive is everything that comes after.
Photography Ton Gomes. Styling Rafa Vida. Grooming Nei Cruz. Soul Artist Management.
Sacha Bilal01 / 08
Sacha Bilal02 / 08
Sacha Bilal03 / 08
Sacha Bilal04 / 08
Fashion / Rafa Vida
Refined Instinct.
Menswear today is defined by nuance. Not through extremes, but through subtle shifts.
What interests me is balance. The point where different references come together to create something precise and intentional.
In my work, I often draw from both menswear and womenswear collections. There is a richness in construction, fabric, and detail that continues to expand how I approach styling. Bringing these elements into menswear is less about contrast and more about range.
There is also a constant exchange happening. Ideas, silhouettes, and attitudes moving fluidly and reshaping how we interpret a look.
At the same time, past references continue to play a strong role. What we see today is often a reinterpretation. Elements from previous decades, vintage pieces, and archives returning in new forms.
It can be in the cut of a trouser, the fluidity of a shirt, or simply in how a silhouette moves. Sometimes it is just a detail that feels unexpected, yet completely natural within the look.
Styling, to me, is instinct. It is about knowing how to combine different influences without overthinking them. Letting elements coexist while maintaining clarity.
Color also plays a role in this process. Not as excess, but as a controlled decision. A sock, a tie, a scarf. Small interventions that shift the energy of a look without taking it over.
This is not about changing what menswear is. It is about expanding how it can be interpreted. Menswear is not being redefined. It is being refined.
Sacha Bilal05 / 08
Sacha Bilal06 / 08
Sacha Bilal07 / 08
Sacha Bilal08 / 08
After the Image / Issue 001
More space for what stays.
This first issue came from wanting more time with the work. More room for images, presence, and observation.
