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Week in Review | Porter, Cathy Horyn, Male Supermodels, NY Men's Fashion Week, New Couture, Illustration

BoF editor-in-chief Imran Amed recaps the week in the business of fashion.
L-R: Imran Amed, Natalie Massenet, Lucy Yeomans, Tess Macleod Smith
By
  • Imran Amed

MONTRÉAL, Canada — After many years away, I'm back in Montréal where I studied as an undergraduate and it feels wonderful (if a bit chilly!) to be here. I was honoured to receive an Alumni Achievement award from my alma mater, McGill University, and have really enjoyed re-connecting with the city, the university and, especially, the students who make this one of the best universities on the planet. Thank you McGill!

This week, print media was on the boil here on BoF. In an exclusive, in-depth video interview with Natalie Massenet, Lucy Yeomans and Tess Macleod Smith (also known as Team Porter magazine), we explored the strategy behind one of the most talked-about fashion magazine launches in recent memory. Indeed, it's fair to say that several editors of major fashion glossies at Hearst and Condé Nast have been nervously awaiting the arrival of the magazine to see how Net-a-Porter would bring its disruptive mindset to print media.

So, what's Porter magazine like? Not at all what many people expected. Rather than explicitly pushing product to drive transactions, the new magazine from the Net-a-Porter group takes a decidedly lifestyle approach — including fashion (but not with a capital F), travel, beauty and food — and doesn't try to force digital aesthetics onto the printed page. You can watch the highlights of my interview with Natalie and her team here. We have also released a full, 35-minute edit with all of the in-depth insights on the thinking behind this ambitious launch. For anyone working in media, it's a really interesting discussion.

And in other print news, we began a new series called Cover Stories, getting the backstory on the best covers of the world's top fashion magazines. First up was Details magazine's March 2014 cover featuring a bevy of high-flying male models, including my friend Garrett Neff. With a rising menswear market, and greater visibility of men's fashion in general, could we be seeing the emergence of male supermodels? Read our interesting report to learn more.

Here are some of our top articles from the week gone by:

The Sorrier State of Fashion Criticism
BoF's Imran Amed reflects on leading fashion critic Cathy Horyn's recent resignation from The New York Times.

Colin's Column | Could Illustration Offer an Antidote to Fashion Banality?
In a photography-saturated age, perhaps it's time to recapture the power of great fashion illustration, says Colin McDowell.

A Couture Stage Beyond Paris: Destiny, Dream or Delusion?
As fashion's centre of gravity moves steadily south and east, driven by the changing global distribution of both wealth and fashion creativity, Paris' monopoly on the dazzling couture trade is being challenged by a handful of new overseas events with their own ideas about couture.

Top Boys: Male Supermodels in the Making?
In the first installment of Cover Stories, we explore the story behind the March cover of Details. As the luxury menswear market continues to grow, an elite group of male models are leaving behind the traditional confines of namelessness and emerging as brands in and of themselves. Will they become household names?

Plans for New York Men's Fashion Week Stalled
In a fast-growing men's fashion market, plans to mount a New York Men's Fashion Week, once expected to debut this July, appear to have stalled. BoF reports.

Exclusive Video: Inside Net-a-Porter's Strategy for 'Porter' Magazine
In an exclusive, in-depth video interview with BoF's Imran Amed, Natalie Massenet, Lucy Yeomans and Tess Macleod Smith discuss the thinking behind Net-a-Porter's new print magazine, Porter.

And don't forget, check out BoF Weekly, a week in review published with Flipboard and updated every Saturday.

Imran Amed
Founder and Editor-in-Chief

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