Style.com/Print Spring 2012 : Lindsey Wixson by Theo Wenner

[MissMagAddict]

Finally, the Web at Hand
By Eric Wilson

Next week, the first issue of a glossy magazine from the editors of Style.com, with the puzzling name of Style.com/Print, will hit newsstands. The cover shows a close-up of Lindsey Wixson, the model from Kansas with the strawberry-shaped smoocher, framed by a thick lipstick-red border. There are no teasers about what’s inside, just a quote from Ms. Wixson that suggests she will never be known as the Joan Didion of her trade.

Ever since it was announced this spring that Style.com, the fashion news site started by Condé Nast in 2000, was developing a print version, people have wondered, what exactly is this thing? Can’t I just read it on Twitter? Well, aside from the novelty factor of its origins, it is a surprisingly effective product, one that reads with a swiftness that is not unlike the experience of clicking through multiple screens at a time. The first 100 pages can be read in five minutes.

“We wanted to give the reader a sense of what it is like to go through the journey of the shows, from New York to London to Milan to Paris,” said Dirk Standen, the editor of Style.com. The idea was basically to create a collectible distillation of what happened during the spring 2012 runway season, which ended only three weeks ago. It will cost $14.99 on newsstands, or $4.99 plus shipping if ordered online before Monday.

Much of the content is similar to what’s typically found online: a collection of Twitter messages, Tommy Ton street-style photos, top-10 lists of most-viewed shows (Chanel was No. 1 with 3.5 million page views), the favorites of its editors (Balenciaga came in first), the most ubiquitous party people, the best shoes and bags and models, and the best-dressed fashionista based on reader votes (Giovanna Battaglia pulled off a major upset). Ms. Wixson also features prominently in a photo essay by Theo Wenner. And, should you actually wish to read something, and do not need glasses to consume very small font sizes, there are articles about Proenza Schouler, Donatella Versace and a Q-and-A with Azzedine Alaïa.

Perhaps the weirdest thing about the magazine is that all the ads show fall clothes, while the editorial focus is on spring. But then, as Mr. Standen would attest, not everything translates so easily into print.

“I did at one point think we should have a tag on the cover that said ‘Click here for more,’ ” he said. “But that was shot down pretty quickly.”

source | nytimes

Highlights include:

The Independents: Azzedine Alaïa talks about the pressures facing designers today and the need for the fashion system to change, while Saskia de Brauw models Alaïa's triumphant recent couture collection.

This American Girl: Photographer Theo Wenner follows model Lindsey Wixson as she travels from her hometown in Kansas to the runways and parties in New York and the showrooms and vampire nights of Paris.

Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler reveal their major expansion plans as their label approaches its tenth anniversary.

Tim Blanks on Alexander McQueen and the power of storytelling in fashion.

The Top 10 Collections, Accessories, Party Animals, Best Dressed, and More, as decided by Style.com's editors and readers.

Exclusive fashion maps of New York, London, Milan, and Paris, and an illustrated guide to the world's fashion cliques—from Miuccia Prada to Aziz Ansari in six degrees or less.

Style.com editor in chief Dirk Standen on where the best designers went right and many designers went wrong this season.

Plus: Donatella Versace at the top of her game, how the Opening Ceremony team took over Kenzo with a little help from Spike Jonze and Chloë Sevigny, the season's top fashion and beauty trends, Tommy Ton's street style, and much more.

We'll be previewing some of this content on the Web site over the next few days, but most of it will only be available in the magazine. So order Style.com/Print today or pick up a copy at a newsstand near you.

source | style.com

 

[Psylocke]

"Much of the content is similar to what’s typically found online"
That's what it seems like when you read the review, too. Then what's the point of paying $20 for this? I don't think this magazine will be around for a long time. The cover is awful as well, it doesn't do anything for Lindsey's kind of quirky beauty.

 

[Melancholybaby]

I'm never one for a close-up of Lindsey's face and as far as the contents go it sounds like they translated their website in a magazine that I don't think I'll buy. For now I'm curious though.

 

[tentalicious]

Needless to say, I'm a bit disappointed.

 

[fluxxx]

not so impressive, not buyin this one, besides if the content is pretty much the same with the online version why bother buy this one?

 

[Miss Dalloway]

A bit lackluster, will pick it up to see if its worth purchasing in the future.

 

[MON]

Too simple for me.

 

[WilliamsLe010919]

I preordered this a month ago but i am disappointed with the cover, it's just lackluster. Hope inside will be better. Does anyone know the size & pages of this magazine? they charged me $8 for shipping.

 

[tigerrouge]

I'd hope this magazine would be something that builds on the brand, expanding the elements that can't be explored on the website, due to space, design or the attention span of an internet audience. But if it's some cheap aggregation of the sort of content that's already there, it doesn't sound so great.

 

[YoninahAliza]

If it's just like online content then why bother reading the print version? I was hoping this would be a chance to further develop the style.com brand in ways which might not be available online. But at the moment I'm a bit disappointed. Hopefully when it's in stores and I can have a proper look at it then my opinion will change. Also, that's pretty pricy for a magazine which doesn't seem worth that amount.

 

[tarsha]

I was thinking about pre-order but It doesn't sound exciting at all.

 

[hautechild]

The cover is ok but I suppose I expected more from their first ever print issue. Also a bit bored of seeing Lindsey at this point.

I preordered this for the cheaper price so we'll see if it will be worth buying again.

That the "highlights" include their Top 10 Collections...

Because we all know how well that usually goes down here I might end up throwing it away in a rage!

 

[VogueDisciple93]

I already pre-ordered my copy a :/ , so I'm hoping the content is better than it sounds right now. And seeing the cover, I definitely would not pay the newsstand price.

 

[visualoptimism]

Here's some previews:



huffingtonpost

 

[Master Wood]

This is mind blowing, and shows the way for the relationship between print and live media. Ordered mine already.

 

[tarsha]

Saskia de Brauw by Kacper Kasprzyk

Photographer Kacper Kasprzyk shot model Saskia de Brauw in head-to-toe Azzedine Alaïa (left) for the debut issue, and the photos are accompanied by a Q & A with Alaïa (conducted by Style.com EIC Dirk Standen) as well as a profile on de Brauw.

Alaïa talks about the craziness of the fashion cycle (we think it’s his favorite subject), and how designers cope (or fail to cope) with it: “Something has to change. There are too many designers who are in a bad state, who are sick, who feel obliged to take drugs. Me, I’m high on life…There is too much pressure. If it ends up destroying people, it’s not good. A human being is not a machine. Especially when it comes to creating.”

De Brauw, hits on the hot button topic for models: Age. “I always refuse to lie about my age. I don’t care about being 30…Maybe I have some kind of strength as a grownup woman who doesn’t automatically fit in cages.”

We’ve also got a first look at the magazine’s “Top 10 Collections” feature. Some stats:

- Which runway show garnered the most page views? Der, it’s Chanel with a staggering 3,531,642 page views

- The top 5 collections of Spring 2012, as ranked by the editors of Style.com: 1. Balenciaga, 2. Lanvin, 3. Prada, 4. Givenchy, 5. Proenza Schouler

- The top 5 collections of Spring 2012 as ranked by visitor traffic to Style.com: 1. Chanel, 2. Louis Vuitton, 3. Prada, 4, Balenciaga, 5. Dolce & Gabbana

fashionista

 

[iluvjeisa]

I do love the cover. It reminds me of a German Vogue cover from 1980 with Michelle Stevens. I think it was March....I'll try to dig it up.

Edit: Scanned by SusanSuperstar here

 

[Ives927]

What differentiates their print magazine from their site? It's interesting that many new magazines today are digital, but Style.com is doing the opposite. I think a digital magazine that comprises of and edits down their contents published quarter would have been a better idea.

 

[justaguy]

Would love to see more. So far only Saskia's ed looks interesting.

 

[visualoptimism]

Previews:



ology.com