Five ideas, four encounters, three leaders, two feuilletons plus one »icon« - that is Riposte, a smart magazine for women founded by Danielle Pender in 2012. Already as a teenager, Danielle Pender was bored by your typical print media and the negative image of women these conveyed. Against the rather one-sided view of the female sex she decided to dedicate her journal, Riposte, to different themes and aspects. Ever since, the designer has focused on extraordinary women, who neither fit in with traditional gender roles nor correspond to the classical concept of beauty, and for this very reason fascinate and inspire other women.

Riposte is, of course, online, too. Yet, Danielle Pender clearly distinguishes between the respective publications and their appearance. Whereas the printed magazine stresses the value of haptic experiences and tactile pleasures, and comes in a simple, yet elegant design, the web version includes a smaller part of the magazine, thus provoking curiosity and the wish to explore both worlds further. Riposte is meant to be an independent and visible signal of honesty and reality instead of a dream world, an invitation to discover, reflect and think out of the box. Seriousness - but not in the form of intellectualism without humour - and depth instead of superficiality, marked by unusual narrative perspectives.

The women Riposte introduces in its issues are neither pale nor colourless. These women are not the luxury or glamourous beings that in most cases are nothing but creatures of male fantasies. They represent true lives and realities are covered in an emotionally dense and respectful way. These portraits show real human beings. Some of them are famous, some are only known to experts, but none of them are boring, a cliché or stereotype. These are no dolls, and their stories offer sensitive and honest inner views – in images and texts. Riposte follows its self-determined principles and convictions also in its editorial design: plain, unfussy, and elegant. Typography and text replace the cover photo, which is another efficient invitation to discover more on a trip into the inner life of the magazine.

www.ripostemagazine.com