How The Internet Is Affecting the Fashion Industry

[softgrey]

From forums like this one...to facebook pages, websites, blogs, ecommerce, twitter, etc...

the internet is the NEW FRONTIER...
and although the fashion industry came a little late to the party-
basically fighting it every step of the way...
even they can no longer sit back and ignore the power of the internet...

advertisers are pulling out of magazines...and placing ads online...
magazines are going out of business...
websites are being created every five minutes...
blogs are being created about every 5 seconds...

so what is the future?
will all magazines go away?
will they convert to online only...
will there continue to be both?...

and how will sites make money other than by selling ads?
promotions, partnerships,...?

thoughts?...ideas?...
where is this all going...?

and with shows being online so quickly...
will this finally change the show schedule that has seemed so outdated for SO long???...

what do YOU think about how the internet is affecting the big picture and the bottom line?...

 

[MiaMe]

Thanks Soft Grey, nice post.

Although being a magazine junkie, I am actually starting to come round to the idea that having my entire collection on something like an ipad could be really cool, beneficial/productive. I like that Dazed offer a digital subscription that gives you access to their back issue catalogue.

It would be so good if Vogue launched a product that gave access to their entire back issue magazine catalogue, I would pay alot of money for that!

 

[Filipe]

so what is the future?
will all magazines go away?
will they convert to online only...
will there continue to be both?...

I say, it will continue to be both. I wouldn't pay for online mags. I prefer to pay to see them in paper, if I like what I see from the contents on the internet.
It's good that certain mags, use recycled paper for the interviews where doesn't matter the quality of paper and use new paper for the photography.

 

[hautechild]

I agree with Filipe, I wouldn't pay for online magazine either. However, typically on the internet it's advertising rather than subscription which pays the way.

Still can you imagine? We get so excited by new ad campaigns which are intended for print. And while you can do some amazing things with online advertising, standard formats really aren't that exciting and fashion is way behind other industries in making use of online advertising. But I've seen embedded-video (not instream but that's a useful ad format too) format advertising for things like perfumes (big fashion mag advertisers) being used on some fashion websites and they look great! There's also maybe potential for rev-share between online magazine and online shops and/or labels. See this dress in an online editorial? Click here to buy it on N-A-P.

Perhaps in the future all books and magazines will be in digital format only. However, for at least the medium term I can't see magazines dying out. Even if digital become more common there would still be a place for magazines, they just may be more niche - like records and record collectors. Even though you can see all of the collections online I still buy all of the collections issues of the magazines each season.

It's such a huge topic with so many areas, but I think the internet is definitely making fashion more accessible. In terms of information, with pictures of collections being made available soon after the shows, and even better, the shows being streamed so anyone can view them right as they happen, no need for a front row seat. Also for consumers with the vast amounts of online shopping sites which have popped up. And then the controversial one of commentary, us here on tFS, twitter, and the infamous bloggers. It's definitely impacting fashion - personally I think in a positive way.

 

[BetteT]

I think we are slowly pulling away from anything in print. I don't like on line mags either, but I think that it's enevitable that it will come to pass that most magazines, fashion or otherwise, will go on line. Advertisers are what keep a magazine alive ... not the readers. So, if they find it more cost effective and it draws more customers to advertise on line, then that is what they will do and paper will become a thing of the past. At least, we will save a tree!

 

[Unknownpleasures]

I'm not really a fan of online magazines and just like with cds and itunes I'd rather stay classic and buy physicals magazines.buuuuuuuuut I'm not afraid of change--I'd read online magazines althought I'm not so sure if I'd pay for them,I'd probably downloaded them for free.

 

[saann]

^unfortunately you're right Bette about advertisers keeping the magazines alive. And a fashion magazine isn't cheap to make, you've got a ton of people working behind every single picture and article and they don't come cheap. But I don't think that paper magazines will go away completely. Advertising is a lot cheaper online so the magazines do make a lot more money in print. They just need to find another way to bring in the money. either by producing it for a lower cost or distributing it.

since it's a lot cheaper to advertise online so I wonder just how much money the online magazines are really making. and people aren't really willing to pay for a magazine online the way they do for a paper magazine, maybe because everything "should" be free online and it's not something that you might feel like you own the way you do a real magazine. I do think the online magazines are making enough to pay for a small staff of people but I'm not sure how they will be able to construct fashion editorials and provide quality content the way magazines do since I don't believe they have the same amount of money that print magazines do.

GQs first issue that was downloadable to your phone was a success and I'm not sure just how Interviews Ipad magazines are doing. But even if they're not selling all that well they're still a success since they apparently cost almost nothing for the company to have. So they're making a clear profit. But I don't think they would have the same success if it wasn't for there being a paper version of it where they could charge the advertisers on that fee.

there is also the problem with online advertising not being as successful in reaching out to potential customers as other types of advertising. since you navigate yourself online you can choose weather or to "see" the advertising and when it pops up in your face it mostly only manages to annoy you instead of entice you like it wants to. When your going through a magazine the advertising is a part of it, and you can choose weather or not to look and take part of it. but online you either don't notice it or it annoys you and since almost anyone can afford it you don't really take it as seriously as you do print advertising.

I think, especially with fashion, it will be more successful for them to work with promotions and partnerships online rather than standard advertising.

 

[softgrey]

great post saan!!!


i really agree with your last comment...
i do think that promos and partnerships is the best way forward...

and i didn't know that Interview is doing an Ipad version of the mag..!!!....
but i was just thinking that the Ipad format is perfect for a digital mag...
**it figures that those geniuses over there would already be on it...
...

i think that Interview magazine is going to define what magazines are going to become...whatever that is...they know what's what over there...
i have to start looking at that magazine more often...
...

ads online ARE generally cheap...
but i think that you could charge more for ads on an iPad...
cause they could be full screen like a page in a magazine...
and people would NOT be annoyed by them because they would be beautiful images...
and they would stop and look at them...

i think part of the problem with the online ads is that they SUCK!...

they need to be as good as the print ads...
especially now because there is so much out there screaming for our attention...
so the ads need to be even better in order to get you to stop and look...

it is a big topic...
one thing i do really love about the internet is not having to fight for a seat at fashion shows!...
now i can just watch from my couch...

 

[BerlinRocks]

one thing i do really love about the internet is not having to fight for a seat at fashion shows!...
now i can just watch from my couch...

That is probably the thing that interest me the much ...
Internet is definitely changing the rules of the fashion world !
And the democratization of Fashion is coming with this code ... When you know that the world can see a show at the same time than Front Row Editors, you know there's a big change !
But I still do not know if it is great (what's the point of seeing the show at the same time than editors, when you are just a lambda person who has no role in the industry and just look at it for passion ? really what's the point ? why wouldn't you wait to see the outfits into magazines, editorials, shops etc. ?) this means the fashion shows themselves have changed their rules > they had become a spectacle to sell, they are becoming just another entertainment such as movie ....
Or is it just a perverse situation that says : you can watch the show live, but you'll always see it through a screen, behind the glass ... you'll never be part of us ! But we're giving you what you want (spying the fashion world through the lens), yet you'll never be able to touch us !
(following the system of tabloids : we give you the lives of celebs, and though they are humans like you, you'll always see these lives through the lens of our paparazzi)

Now, we could come back to what says Katie Grand in Industrie Magazine itw ... She, basically, said that the blogs, forums etc. develops opinions that are not based on knowledge, education or knowledge. In a way, she underlined the deprofessionalization of the world of fashion : not only people who studied or work in the industry are now able to state something on Fashion. Now anybody can do a magazine, a fashion review etc.
She says it is bad, but basically she underlines something very interesting (she just didn't know how to say it ! ahah).

Now about the iPad : it is indeed a new way to look at magazines, and think of how to make a magazine, but I still hate ebooks or such things (I need to turn the pages, write on the books, underlines phrases, take away an image of a magazine ...) Though, I just believe that now that you know the 3D technology is growing, you can only imagine that editors in a close future have to work on such things (and Dazed & Confused have already tried this ... so it is already something in mind of some editors) ... When you'll be seeing the editorials in motion in 3D on your iPad ....... That is probably the future ......
Is it the death of Fashion Photography ? I don't think so .... Fashion Photography will never die, like painting never died in Art ... But video could become the new medium of how to express your creative ideas in Fashion, and internet, the next iPad etc. are their support .........
just have look at what Diane Pernet have built with her festival of Fashion Court-Métrage ......................

oops I pretty went out-of-subject ...

 

[ultramarine]

I dont think magazine will die out completely in print form to become digital .. I dont like digital .. I can digest blogs and bits but not read an entire mag online .. I dunno about you guys but my eyes get a bit tired when Im reading something lenghty on this ...

I read somewhere how the internet is even changing the attention span and the retention from what we read ... we like smaller pieces to read ... when you go on line you are a bit of a scatterbrain so esp with children nowadays theres only so much you can retain (I think thats why the blogs do so well .. theyre just tidbits)

Online advertising esp on the fashion industry is still like, on diapers ... this are exciting times ... I know for sure but everything is so young and tender ... I remember about one of those digitized versions of online mags didnt do quite well with the ipad ( was it in the UK? was it GQ? cant recall)

The marketing strategist have not been able to keep up with the technology, imho ... soon we will see much more .. time to be excited

 

[BerlinRocks]

I read somewhere how the internet is even changing the attention span and the retention from what we read ... we like smaller pieces to read ... when you go on line you are a bit of a scatterbrain so esp with children nowadays theres only so much you can retain (I think thats why the blogs do so well .. theyre just tidbits)

indeed, I do believe Mac have developped very short novels that you can read on your iPad or iPhone ...

and me neither, i cannot read anything on the computer. I do print all the PDFs I download and never read them on my screen. It is unbearable ... But I guess new generations can ....
Geez, the future ......

 

[mikeijames]

not to get too much into the advertising weeds here, but one must also consider that advertisers expect more from online advertising than they do from traditional mass market advertising because of the technology involved. if you distribute a million plus copies of a fashion mag, you use all sorts of ways to figure what type of response you should expect. with the internet, advertisers can see exactly how many people saw the ad, clicked the ad, followed through to subsequent pages, made a purchase, and even where you navigate to after looking at their site. it sort of demystifies advertising in a way that may cause some to re-evaluate advertising at all in a major way.

does ysl get more sales as a result of a web banner on style.com or by sending out private invitations to its client list? does burberry sell more trenches by sponsoring a page on vogue.co.uk or hosting an event at one of its stores?

magazines, like all other print media, will never completely go away, but it will increasingly become an elite/marginalized experience as the internet becomes more accessible and more compact in people's lives.

HOWEVER, the relationships that traditional print media has in its various areas of interest will help it steal market share from other traditional media sources as well. witness the demise of the once popular show "fashion file" even while we see tim blanks hosting video segments on style.com. when's the last time you learned about a cosmetics "gift with purchase" offer on the radio vs. push down web advertisement on people.com?

it doesn't mean all television channels and radio stations will disappear either, but they will all have to adapt to this new marketplace.

 

[Filipe]

At least, we will save a tree!

If there wasn't people intentionally torching to fire thousands of trees ...
The fact we need trees for paper, don't think it matters here, besides many mags are using recycled paper.

Mags make money because advertisers and readers but I don't think people would be willing to pay to read a magazine online ....
Although, if you think that the price of oil will increase next year, will probably increase the shipping price of mags too and mags will be more expensive, and due to the financial crisis people will stop buying them, so there's a actually a chance that it will go online.

 

[wekilledcouture]

As long as there are those of us who still love to pick up a magazine and feel the paper going through our fingers, it will survive. The advertisers know who their target market is.

 

[shoelady30]

I think the amount of people that read magazines will definitely lower, Magazines will continue to be around.
There are people that dont really do or like the internet thing for various reasons.

 

[softgrey]

another thing that the internet has done though ---
or should be doing...
is give a platform to young/new designers...

designers can start a website and do ecommerce pretty easily and inexpensively...
it's like opening your own flagship boutique without all the overhead!...
that's a pretty good deal, imo...

 

[tigerrouge]

GQs first issue that was downloadable to your phone was a success and I'm not sure just how Interviews Ipad magazines are doing. But even if they're not selling all that well they're still a success since they apparently cost almost nothing for the company to have.

I think the "it doesn't cost much" concept is a bit of a mirage. In the excitement to prove that there's a solidly profitable future in this, businesses are willing to omit the idea that there are still plenty of costs behind-the-scenes.

Unless the only thing a magazine is doing is flatly scanning its back catalogue into a readable format, there's a lot of technical work going on to make sure everything is in working order in this new interactive product they're putting out - and 'technical' employees cost a lot more than editorial ones do. It's like putting old books on the iPad - people don't realise that they have to be reformatted, and that somebody has to do it.

And all those extra-special features that are the point of switching to a new format - they have to be thought of, designed, coded and checked. A publisher will also have to keep pace with new developments on a daily basis, because there will be no space to lag behind in this new world, in how you deliver your product. It won't just be the content that will need updated on a constant basis, but the architecture of the way that it is presented. So unless a publisher is going to run entirely on rooms full of interns working for free, the issue of "cost" is going to re-emerge as a serious concern at some point, in a world where no-one currently believes in paying that much for online content.

Optimism is great, but there also needs to be hard financial evidence that an industry-saving iPad/iPhone dream is becoming a successful reality, no longer underwritten by print magazine money. Not industry talk, not hope and excitement, not deliberately misleading figures - but the real bottom line. The one that really shows how far publishers have swapped 'old costs' with new ones.

 

[behansu]

^You make some fabulous points. People don't realize the costs and efforts it takes to digitize a print magazine. And if a magazine says that it cost them nothing then they're flat out lying. Technical know how comes at a costly price in business. Just look at the IT department of any company, much less the people responsible for converting print material into a successful digital format compatible with the myriad of reading devices available now.

Furthermore, I think there is good reason to believe that costs will only increase as people will come to expect more and more from their digital editions. The print medium is quite static....there isn't much more you can do with ink on paper. The digital medium however, is always evolving as the technology changes and becomes more advanced. Who's to say that people won't soon expect and demand much more in terms of special features, videos, sound clips, and 3-D images just because the medium allows it? Costs will catch up sooner or later.

 

[softgrey]

hmmm...
so many good points presented here...

maybe it's going to get even more complicated as we go forward?...
everyone is trying to figure it all out...
but i don't think anyone has a crystal ball to see what the future holds...

aside from the magazine thing...
i think that ecommerce sites have made so many more things accessible...
especially to people who don't live in a major city and would not usually have access to a lot of designer (or even lower priced) items...

and i think that's pretty cool...


***it's ALL moving much faster now too...isn't it?!?...
because the internet is 24/7 and most blogs/sites add new content on a daily basis...
so there is a hunger they are all trying to feed, that they seem to have created themselves...
is the public really hungry for new content every single day?...
isn't once a week enough...
or how about just one new thing every day...
rather than 10 new things every day...

at a certain point you are going to lose the viewer/reader if you overwhelm them with too much content, imho...

...

 

[tigerrouge]

Maybe fashion and the internet bring out the worst in each other - fashion trains people to consume without any regard for whether they truly need what they're so desperate to get, and the internet conditions people to believe that "what's new" is the most important experience of being online. Splice them together and... you end up with a prescription for attention deficit disorder and one hell of a credit card debt.