men.style.com

Conde Nast Says Goodbye to Men.Style.com, Hello to GQ.com, Details.com (Ad Age)
“Conde Nast will shut down one of its web-only brands, Men.Style.com, when it gives two of its titles, GQ and Details, their own websites in October.”

September Ad-Page Tallies Plunge (Ad Age)
“Is September now the cruelest month? It may very well be for fashion and beauty titles this year. The final tallies for those crucial issues are emerging — and for almost every one of the titles, results are terrible.”

Retailers to discount through to 2010 (Drapers)
“UK retailers are likely to continue discounting right through to the first half of 2010, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.”

Designers divided on copyright law (Canada.com)
“A proposed new law that would extend copyright protection to clothing has designers in an uproar and threatens to widen a rift in the American fashion industry.”

Escada plans rights issue rescue (Drapers)
“Escada, the German luxury womenswear group, has launched plans to raise €29 million (£25.1m) in a rights issue in a bid to stave off insolvency.”

Fashion spread, courtesy of Vogue (US)

NEW YORK, United States — Susan Sontag once said “fashion is fashion photography.” She might have added: “and fashion photography is the magazine.”

Indeed, it’s hard to overestimate the importance of magazines to the fashion system. More than the runway, the boutique, the boulevard, or the internet, glossy physical magazines are still the primary place where fashion lives and the most powerful pathway for its transmission.

But in the first few weeks of 2009, the outlook for powerhouse fashion publishers like Condé Nast (which has almost monopolized high-end magazines) looks decidedly grim. In response to the recession, advertisers are slashing their marketing spend.

As a result, ad pages (the barometer of a magazine’s health) are plunging fast, even at leading titles like Vogue. In recent weeks, The New York Times has published a string of articles with headlines like “Prominent Magazines Lose Weight, Shedding Nearly Half Their Ads” and “When Even Condé Nast Is in Retreat,” while The Wall Street Journal reported: “Magazine Ads Evaporated in 2008, Faster as Months Went On.”

While many advertisers are cutting budgets, others have followed readers online. On the web, consumers can access timely and engaging content free of charge and advertisers can communicate at a fraction of the cost, track the impact of their message (by counting how many consumers click) and link their ads through to e-commerce sites. But the idea of magazines migrating online is problematic, not least because the current business model that underpins online publishing is not self-sustaining.

Delivering content is much cheaper online (there are no printing or distribution costs). But the content itself — which is why readers are there in the first place — remains very expensive to produce. And while online readership is rising, the web’s culture of free access to content means magazines earn nothing from online subscriptions and must cover costs through advertising alone. Unfortunately, the sale of online ad space simply doesn’t generate enough income. As David Carr from The New York Times put it, “the web has yet to match the ability of a glossy display ad to build brand image.”

Currently, many online publishers offer content that is heavily subsidized by revenue earned from ad sales at affiliated print publications. In return, the websites generate subscriptions. Even Style.com, one of the biggest websites in the industry, which produces and publishes its own unique content, is billed as “the online home of Vogue” and solicits readers to subscribe to the print magazine.

And while a growing number of fashion blogs and other online startups produce their own content inexpensively, there are many more who depend on trickle down from the traditional media. So while it’s tempting to think otherwise, the internet currently offers little solution to the implosion of ad sales at print magazines, partly because the relationship between print and online is symbiotic. When print suffers, online suffers too.

But the business case isn’t the only argument against migration online. Fashion is a tactile experience. Magazines matter because paper stock matters. Photography matters. And image quality matters. Glossy magazines deliver an experience that a webpage doesn’t. But magazines could learn a few lessons from the online space that might offer advertisers added value — and lure them back — while enriching the experience for consumers at the same time.

Back in the fall of 2007, when the September issue of American Vogue clocked a record 727 ad pages, Condé Nast launched broadband internet channel shopvogue.tv. Produced through the business and marketing side of the magazine, the site was an attempt to create added value for advertisers by connecting static print ads to online commerce. Each advertiser that bought a full-page ad in the September issue qualified for inclusion on the site, where consumers could browse and shop the contents of the ads as they appeared in the magazine. Advertisers that bought multipage spreads were permitted to post additional content, like behind-the-scenes video from their campaign’s photo shoots, that appeared in a series called “Behind the Lens” and ran alongside other fashion-related video entertainment like “60 Seconds to Chic” and “Trend Watch.”

While this was a commendable attempt at innovation, for two key reasons the site failed to impress. First, the video content had no input from Vogue’s editorial side — and as a result did not sufficiently reflect the vitality of the Vogue brand. And second, the technology wasn’t adequately evolved. If a print advertisement caught their eye, readers still had to put down their magazines and visit a website, only to find that when they selected “shop” they would often click through to a website that did not offer e-commerce, but more of the same campaign imagery pasted on a webpage.

But things have changed. Both consumers and fashion brands have embraced e-commerce. And the current economic environment couldn’t be better (or more desperate) for an innovative new approach that blends the glossy, brand-building value of print advertising with the shopable and measurable value of online advertising.

In a previous article, I discussed the power of “Quick Response” or QR codes. They are next generation barcodes that can be easily printed on a physical magazine page, but function like online links. To “click” on them, you point and shoot them with your camera phone and they retrieve relevant information on your phone’s web browser. For example, in Japan, McDonald’s customers can point and shoot the barcodes on their hamburger wrapping and get nutritional information on their screens. The technology has yet to go mainstream in the US and Europe (because the software doesn’t come pre-installed on phones) but that’s all about to change, as big advertising and technology companies like Hewlett-Packard and Publicis Groupe are pushing to popularize the technology.

Meanwhile, fashion brands like Ralph Lauren and Gucci have already begun using these codes to link print advertising in magazines to mobile commerce sites. This makes glossy magazine ads something consumers can browse and shop. It also allows marketers to measure how consumers respond to their ads and monitor the results of their investment. That translates into serious added value for advertisers.

But there’s no reason QR codes should be deployed on ad pages alone. The same simple technology can also make editorial content more compelling — and help attract new readers and the advertisers that pay for their eyeballs.

Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio recently released a beautiful slow-motion fashion film called Chrysalis, created by Jez Tozer during an editorial shoot for Dazed & Confused Japan. If the magazine had printed QR codes next to the editorial, readers could have seen the film alongside the images with a point and shoot of their camera phones.

In fact, Purple Fashion magazine, perhaps the most high-gloss publication in the industry whose physical beauty approaches objet d’art, has done something similar for their new issue. For their “Best of the Season” story, photographed by Terry Richardson and styled by Christopher Niquet, Purple neatly tucked a QR code into the margins of a spread featuring Serbian model Natasa. When they point and shoot the code with their phones, readers uncover a dramatic behind the scenes video featuring Terry Richardson and Natasa at work.

Magazines that combine the glossy, tactile appeal of print with the power to deliver online video, sound, and other multimedia content is a compelling concept. But the single most powerful thing about digital technology is not multimedia. Unlike static magazines or broadcast television, the web is inherently a two-way medium that offers tremendous possibilities for dialogue.

Founded in 1969, Andy Warhol’s legendary Interview magazine — dedicated to the cult of celebrity — created a sense of spontaneity and dialogue by publishing free flowing interviews that were often unedited. Now, four decades after the first issue of Interview, advances in technology allow editors to push Warhol’s vision further and open the dialogue to readers. Using the same simple QR code technology, editors could let readers leave comments and start conversations in the metaphorical “margins” of a physical magazine that become visible only when other readers click with their phones.

But this is just the beginning. It’s time to imagine a future when magazines let readers not only read, view and comment on content, but actually participate with their icons to influence and co-create content. The forthcoming March issue of Interview features a story on Mary-Kate Olsen. What if, on the day the new issue launched, readers could use their phones to point and shoot a QR code on the cover and open a chat window that let them submit questions for Ms. Olsen to answer live?

Now that’s something that might raise the pulse of readers and the advertisers who chase them.

Vikram Alexei Kansara is a digital strategist and writer based in New York.

Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2009, courtesy of Michael Kors

Michael, Macro (Fashion Week Daily)
The Michael Kors brand just keeps on growing as it plans to open 25 stores in Europe in the next three years.

Are The Glossies Losing Their Lustre? (JC Report)
“By continuing to focus on the highest of fashion, are magazines alienating a readership for which luxury is an aspiration more out of reach than ever?,” asks the JC Report.

Retailers Still Expanding in China (WSJ)
Even though data suggests a “slackening” of sales, retailers such as Wal-Mart, Tesco are expanding in China. (Subscription required)

Recession’s Impact on New York Fashion Week (WSJ)
Affected by the recession, three designers are combining a runway show during New York Fashion Week.

Image courtesy of Fashion156.com

LONDON, United Kingdom - While taking a whirl around the Internet these days you’re bound to bump into an online fashion magazine – or ten. Everyone from Richard Mortimer of Boombox fame to Net-a-Porter’s Natalie Massenet is getting in on the action – and looking for ways to monetise it.

For a long time, content developers had a hard time creating a distinction between simple websites and bonafide online magazines. But, in the past year, a plethora of online magazines have emerged with three common threads:

Multimedia:   The new magazines are a veritable multi-media festival. For some content consumers, particularly younger tech-savvy types, a multi-media experience is the only way to capture (and keep) their attention: lots of videos, blogs, and communities.

Integration: The trick here has been to create a truly integrated experience across different channels — for example,  how do you make an offline page really come alive on the Internet? Creating complementary content that can be consumed separately, and together, satisfies even the most demanding multi-tasker.

Convergence:   Style.com meets Neiman Marcus.com. Content companies are integrating commerce models into their sites while commerce companies are creating their own content, and thereby, becoming content destinations in and of themselves. 

To mark the surge of online magazines, we’ve compiled a list of ten of the most interesting concepts to watch:

1. NY Times T Magazine: With thought-provoking editorial, sharp images and full page advertisements, this is the place to find the experience that most closely captures that of reading a great offline magazine. But, it doesn’t end there. T also kicks things into a whole new gear with seamlessly-integrated video and a daily blog, “The Moment”, resulting in a true multi-media experience. We think this one is a winner, and by the sounds of it, the advertisers are loving it too.

2. Net-a-Porter Notes: Did you know that Net-a-Porter puts out a new edition of its online magazine every single week? Last week, Natalie Massenet told me that “Net-a-Porter Notes” is a key part of making Net-a-Porter an online fashion destination with both content and commerce. Just click on the  magazine images or trends, and you are magically transported to the Net-a-Porter commerce site. How efficient!

3. Vogue.co.uk: London’s fashion community descended on a pre-launch breakfast for the new Vogue.co.uk last week. Editor Dolly Jones tells us that the new site will launch in a few weeks and will be “completely different” from the current site. Vogue.com devotees will have already noticed that the site has been using more and more video content in recent months – a sign of things to come? Will there be a commerce play too? Stay tuned.

4. Ponystep.com: A couple of weeks ago I met East London impresario Richard Mortimer and asked him about Ponystep.com which just launched today. I can see why Richard described it as a project of passion, “working with people I like.” This may be why there is no apparent business model. However, this think-about-money-later formula has worked for Richard in the past – Boombox spawned a book, was invited to replicate itself in Milan and Paris, and drew attention (read: money) from big brands like Burberry. 

5. New York Look: The second issue of New York Look magazine has hit the stands, with the online version to hit the site in the next couple of weeks. We reviewed the launch issue in the Autumn, and enjoyed its insider perspective and interesting editorial. Case and point: the new issue features Janet Ozzard’s interview with Cathy Horyn on the end of the runway show in an “online-only” fashion world.

6. BBC Thread: Seizing the zeitgeist for ethical fashion, the BBC launched an online fashion magazine earlier this month, targeted at young, socially conscious consumers interested in self-described “eco-fabulous” style. The magazine’s content runs the gamut from environmentally friendly to ethically-conscious and for once, has a definition of what this actually means.

7. HintMag: Hintmag has developed a cult following for its in-depth ‘Hinterviews’ with hard-to-pin-down fashion royalty. This month, Stephen Jones, London’s legendary milliner, reveals what its like to work on designing runway-worthy headgear for fashion designers ranging from Rei Kawakubo to Marc Jacobs to John Galliano.

8. Fashion156.com: Every 156 hours, Fashion156 releases a new issue of its online magazine, in keeping with fast fashion, in the most literal sense of the word. With Susie Bubble as a key contributor and a desire to make Fashion156 a platform for new talent, this site has a fresh take on all things fashion — including a clever model that includes links to commerce partners, which likely create revenue from affiliate sales and commissions.

9.Very Elle: Earlier this month, Elle France launched this new integrated online/offline magazine property which takes the offline magazine and replicates it verbatim online — complete with full-page advertisements. Its en français, but you can still get a feel for how some offline magazines may try to get into this space to directly leverage their content online, while maintaining the feel of a real magazine.

10. Iconique: First launched in 2000 (and therefore, a pioneer in this space), Iconique magazine is the  brainchild of of Joost van Gorsel. Designed using flash, which is not necessarily great for quick download times, the site still manages to evoke real moods and tantalise with its virtual catwalks, stylish podcasts and a sexy welcome message.

Which online fashion magazines do you rate highly? Let the BoF community know who else is doing something special.