Edward: Steph and Alek, welcome to Connex family !! It´s such a great pleasure to have you here.  Tell us how you met.

Steph and Alek:  We have met in Paris on the Champs Elysées in last century (God! we are that old!!). Alek was moving from Belgrade to study in Paris and I was starting a new life in the capital of love and romance ... how could have we missed each-other ;-) !!?

Edward:  OH LALA Mag! Definitely, one of the most famous online fashion magazines.  How and when did it all start? (Tell us about the creative process to develop this publication.)

Steph and Alek:  OH LALA Mag is in its 5th year now, and it went through various stages, but one thing never changed : the importance we give to beauty and being positive. We started locally (from Paris), but have traveled the world in search for unique, visually appealing, original and fun info.

Only in 2007 it was read by over 20 million visitors. We have met many interesting people thanks to OhlalaMag and learned so much, and we hope that we have succeeded to transfer at least a small part of it to our readers.

Edward:  Do you think in the society we live in IMAGE is worth more than a THOUSAND WORDS?

Steph and Alek:  Imagine all the things people can say with a thousand words ... just take a picture of Britney Spears and you'll have people through out thousands and thousands of words ... is it worth it?  We're not sure!  What we are sure of is that you can pretty much tell any story with an image ... and it is a great way to awaken people's imagination.

Edward:  What is ‘fashion’ for you? Share with us what´s IN and what´s OUT in fashion world nowadays.

Steph and Alek:  Fashion is about feeling good with yourself, not about the LOGOtomization !!! With OhLaLa we are trying to bring second degree view on our society: "making people craving for an underwear wore by a soccer player" ... can we call that fashion !? Probably not but we do l ke to write about things we like and love, giving a chance to our readers to create their individual style: That is what fashion is all about - being Unique.

Edward:  You  are also photographers. What do you look for most when selecting models to shoot? What are your favorite models in fashion modeling?

Steph and Alek:  We both have a different approach to photography, which makes the result more interesting. Right now we are probably at the early stage of our art and we are very excited to see what the future will bring.  Concerning the models we both agree 100% on the fact that a model must have a charisma that equals his beauty. We shot Brandon Waarbroek many times and his radiant beauty also comes from the inside. That says that he is a good model and a great person. He became our good friend.

Edward:  I´m sure you might have some cool/unusual backstages moments. Share some of them with us.

Steph and Alek:  The backstage of a fashion shoot is everything but glamorous ! What we like is that for some shots we go to some interesting places and with all sorts of people around you. We did a photo shot in a fountain by the Eiffel Tower on a hot summer day.

On the final image the model looks like he is standing alone in the water when actually a group of old ladies were sitting all around him and we kept asking them to leave the model "some space" so they don't get into the picture ... it was very funny to hear those ladies commenting on the speedos!

Edward:  If you could choose your top fashion campaigns of all times, which ones you´d choose and why?

Steph and Alek:  We will not highlight particular campaign here but will list our favorite photographers that are doing amazing job: Bruce Weber for A&F, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott (LV and many more), Steven Klein (D&G), and Mario Testino (Versace).

Edward:   Paparazzis, the media, vanities, show business….How do you  handle this fashion world? Do you think it´s glamorous?

Steph and Alek:  Fortunately we don't have to deal with all of that, and for the same reason we gladly avoid premieres, and all kind of events we are invited to in LA, Paris or London. And when we have to go, it's actually very entertaining to watch all the action going on from the backstage (we love being in the shadow). Fashion world is well orchestrated fantasy and in reality is anything but glamorous.

Edward:  Are you optimistic?

Steph and Alek:  Being optimistic nowadays is not an option anymore. There is a false idea and concept about "normality" today. What's normal, who's normal?  The subject is too complex to be interpreted ! Unfortunately some do interpret it and "sell" it to others (politicians, religious leaders, ...) . We live in a society that can communicate better today than ever before, thanx to the internet who gets blamed for cutting people from "reality". Let's just hope this new media will be used to gather and unite people and their energy for a new and better tomorrow.

Edward:  And what do you guys like to do in your free time?

Steph and Alek:  Free time ... we have no idea what that means anymore ;-) That's the bad thing about doing what you love ... you never stop !!!

Edward:  And that´s all folks! Steph and Alek, thanks so much for sharing your story with us. Before you leave, tell us about your current and future projects and your expectations for 2008.

Steph and Alek: Let's just say that 2008 is going to be for us a year of many exciting projects, and another chance to reach to those that need help.  Thank you, and have great holidays.

Be sure to visit http://ohlalamag.com

The backstage´s video: http://gallery.mac.com/aleksteph#100000

MICHAEL WRITES: I extend my sincere thanks to Steph and Alek for taking the time to do this interview for connex247, and for featuring some of our stories on their site. Very much appreciated! -- Michael J Morris, publisher