The Business of Magazines

[axiomatic]

I predicted this when lockdown started! If the magazine goes bust, they're not obliged to refund subscribers. Going after NAP won't help either because the magazine was an entity.
That's why I don't subscribe to any magazine anymore, only buy off the newsstand. Their content was trite in the end anyway.

It's definitely a risk when subscribing to a magazine from a one-title publisher. The big publishers have been good about replacing a magazine subscription when one stops publishing. I still have subscriptions to New Yorker and VF that I got 7-8 years ago because a CN golf magazine closed that I had a (free, never read) 10 year subscription to

 

[vogue28]

Porter did state in the email back in 2019 that subscribers could receive the first two issues free of charge, to compensate for the cancellation (and lack of refund). However, given the global pandemic, I very much doubt we will be witnessing Porter's return in the near future.

 

[8eight]

Can anyone post the WWD article of Anne Marie Curtis' new magazine/platform? Thank you

 

[axiomatic]

Can anyone post the WWD article of Anne Marie Curtis' new magazine/platform? Thank you

LONDON — Green fashion is everywhere, but what about a green fashion magazine?

Former Elle U.K. editor in chief Anne-Marie Curtis is fusing decades of glossy magazine experience with a keen interest in sustainability and launching The Calendar Magazine: A Sustainable Glossy on Instagram.

The Calendar is a micro-magazine that takes its editorial cues from glossy titles, with slick editorial images, interviews, features, fashion, beauty and lifestyle content aimed at “the considered consumer.”

The soft launch is this week, with a website to follow in June and a physical magazine planned for later this year. The Instagram platform will offer daily content that examines the intersection of fashion and sustainability, with stories on vintage, rental, resale and consuming “more mindfully.”

In an interview Curtis said her aim is to spark an upbeat and productive conversation around eco-fashion, and how to consume more mindfully.

“I wanted to create what felt like a joyful space, with high-quality content. There are lots of ways to live and shop more sustainably. And I believe in driving change through desire, rather than through guilt,” said Curtis, who left Elle U.K. two years ago, having helped the magazine achieve strong digital numbers and circulation growth at a time when other print titles were falling flat.

The magazine is a consumer glossy, she stressed, not a technical journal, and Curtis is not planning to offer data-driven drill downs of brands’ sustainability credentials or progress.

She said all of the brands and companies featured in the magazine will have a sustainability angle and the end game is to “amplify the message that you can be more sustainable and make a positive impact without losing any of the joy and love in the process.”

Her idea to look closer at sustainable fashion had been germinating for a while. It formed when she edited Elle U.K.’s September 2018 sustainability issue, which focused on how women could make changes to the way they work and shop.

After leaving Elle after 15 years (two of them spent at the helm) she began developing the idea. She secured a small investment and began assembling a core team, many of them her former collaborators at Hearst.

She’s also looking at brand partnerships, while the magazine will eventually be shoppable.

Curtis said The Calendar Magazine has been built for Instagram and, going forward, there will be video, swipe-through features and special functions to help viewers navigate their journey.

The name “calendar” is meant to evoke the idea of fleeting time, and Curtis said she wants her readers and community “to be focused on the now, rather than rushing onto the next trend.”

 

[8eight]

Thank You.

 

[axiomatic]

Net-a-porter

In the fashion industry, Net-a-porter was an early trendsetter in brand magazines, launching Porter, filled with lush fashion shoots and long-form features, in 2014 as a bimonthly. It grew to six issues a year, but in May 2019 it revealed that it would return to a biannual publication as the company focuses more on digital editorial content. Now, WWD understands that it has since been decided Porter will be a digital-only publication, but that all content formats will continue to be reviewed. It hasn’t published a print product since 2019, but recently has featured digital cover stars every two weeks, including Paloma Elsesser, Hunter Schafer, Jodie Comer and Jodie Turner Smith. It also just launched season two of its “Incredible Women” podcast, in advance of International Women’s Day.

Goop

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Magazine, an extension of her wellness brand, made its debut in 2017 with the actress as its cover face and advertisers including Gucci Eyewear, Neiman Marcus Beauty, NBC, BMW, Roberto Coin and Frédérique Constant. Back then, Condé Nast was coproducing the magazine, set to be a quarterly publication priced at $14.99, but after just a year Goop went independent. When launching the third issue on its own in 2018, Elise Loehnen, Goop’s then chief content officer, explained to WWD that one of the biggest issues that came up during the “trial period” with the publisher was being refused insight on sales, purportedly due to contractual obligations. But after that, only one more issue was released in print in winter 2019. When WWD reached out to Goop for comment, a spokeswoman said that the magazine was a limited edition and the company is now focusing on its Netflix show, with the second season due to air in 2022.

Are Brand Magazines Still in Print? – WWD

 

[Blayne266]

PamBoy on Twitter “The word of the street is that Conde Nast is about to close Vogue Paris”.

I’m not the biggest PamBoy fan but they sometimes do leak things that are often true.

I’m utterly shocked that out of all the Vogues that Vogue Paris is rumoured to be closing, before smaller lesser editions like the Ukraine, Portugal, Hong Kong, Czech, Greece maybe even Italian.

It will be a sad sad day if this turns out true, the first of the big four to fold being Vogue Paris, especially with the state of Italian Vogue.

 

[vogue28]

Huh? Close Vogue Paris? The major senior fashion magazine to the city in which the world considers to be the most fashionable? I've never heard anything so ludicrous. Vogue Scandinavia hasn't even debuted, and there's talk of Vogue Paris closing? I'm refusing to believe this.

 

[A.D.C.]

I doubt CN would ever close Vogue Paris. There's too much brand value there. Not just with "Vogue" but also "Paris". At worst, I can see them outsourcing it by licensing the rights to another publisher. Licensing seems to be the biggest source of revenue at Conde these days, hence why there's so many insignificant Vogues out there. VP could command a higher premium than them all.

 

[THD96]

I highly doubt CN will close one of their big 4 Vogues. If they can't even keep that alive then may as well cease the whole CN altogether. VP always have a healthy amount of ads page even more than the "crown jewel" VUS. Can you believe the capital of fashion have no Vogue. How embarrassing is that. The Vogue that should be pull the plug VHK

I feel like the likes of PamBoy, BryanBoy, Louis and my absolute fashion nightmare Luke Haute le mode tend to pull this kinda clickbaits for their 15 minutes of fame. So people think they're some important people in the industry.

 

[MagFan]

that overpriced waste of paper Vogue Paris Collections maybe

 

[Benn98]

that overpriced waste of paper Vogue Paris Collections maybe

Don't let Vogue28 hear you say this aloud, lol. He loves Vogue Collections.

It seems absurd that they'd close VP, but PamBoy has been right and wrong about rumours. I mean, Tisci is still at Burberry when according to Pamboy he was supposed to have been gone by now. What does he actually do other than sit and gossip all day on Twitter? LOL.

Although, and this will likely ruffle a few feathers, can we honestly say that Vogue Paris is the commanding force in fashion right now. As in, does the world, the fashion industry at large still look at VP to lead the way each season trend-wise? That's not even the case with American or British Vogue anymore. Everything has been diluted by brands running their own platforms, influencers, anti-fashion fashion sites like Hypebeast etc. These are the ones that command the attention of consumers. At least, the type of consumers that all the brands chase after.

Vogue Paris under Emmanuelle Alt is a niche magazine. It appeals only to a specific type of person, with a specific type of style? And if you don't care for it there's nothing else in the magazine that will cater to you. It's not VP under Carine which despite its edginess still had a neutral appeal fashion-wise, where the world waited in bated breath for each issue to drop and see how Carine interpreted the season's trends. Because her vision wasnt as singular and set in stone as Alt's. And that's why I say Alt's VP is niche.

 

[vogue28]

Don't let Vogue28 hear you say this aloud, lol. He loves Vogue Collections.

I came to my senses about two/three years ago and stopped buying Vogue Paris Collections all together. I hated that they took out the accessories section toward the back of the magazine, which was the best part for me. It seemed like a complete waste of money, for something I can easily access online within a second, in HQ.

I must admit that I've thought of Vogue Paris and nothing else over the past few hours - all the pleasurable covers and content throughout the years. I would be absolutely devastated if the magazine folded - or if even Alt was to depart after the 100th anniversary which is set to be unveiled with the May/June issue. For me, Vogue Paris is the one magazine I truly look forward to each and every month. Despite the March issue being a non-event, it's still the best of the bunch and umpteen magazines emulate the magazine's art direction. There is NO other!

 

[mikel]

Vogue Paris closing? Is it April Fools’ already?

 

[MON]

My theory: Vogue Paris is ‘closing’ because it will be rebranded as Vogue France. The same way Vogue Nippon rebranded as Vogue Japan.

Nevertheless, I don’t think CN is that dumb to close a legacy edition. There MUST be a Vogue that will cater to French Fashion. Trust me, ‘The Big 4’ doesn’t refer to the ‘biggest’ Vogue editions. It refers to New York, London, Milan, and Paris. As long as these cities remain to be the pillars of Fashion, there will always be a Vogue edition attached to it.

And if Vogue Paris is closing, Alt wouldn’t allow that she’s the editor when it was shut down. At a time when European editors left, Alt stayed. So I highly doubt it.

Collapsed to 6 issues? I’d believe.
Collapsed to quarterly issues? I’d believe.
Entire shut down? Ludicrous. April fools at best.

 

[mikel]

Vogue Hommes is Vogue Paris adjacent. Perhaps they will close? So GQ France can get bigger?

 

[MON]

Vogue Hommes is Vogue Paris adjacent. Perhaps they will close? So GQ France can get bigger?

This is the most plausible scenario. The same way Details gave way for GQ. Second is Vogue Paris Collections.

 

[Xone]

If they don’t close VI they are not gonna close VP...maybe it’s what MON says...

Why Pam boy is verified? His accounts should be closed.

 

[SophiaVB]

Why Pam boy is verified? His accounts should be closed.

He is the most ANNOYING "insider" on Twitter - like what is his actual job??

 

[axiomatic]

Leyna Bloom Breaks a Modeling Barrier

Leyna Bloom wants you to see her — not just the curves she displays for the camera but the firm sense of purpose under her skin. She is about to get her wish on an unlikely stage: as the first transgender woman of color to be featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

The occasion is a pivot point. In enlisting Ms. Bloom, who is Black and Filipino, Sports Illustrated intends to signal a continuing engagement with social issues. (It featured another transgender model, Valentina Sampaio, last year.)

For Ms. Bloom, it is a platform for activism and, with it, representation for her less visible, often embattled trans sisterhood. It is also a new phase in a journey that has taken her from the predominantly Black South Side of Chicago, to the underground ballroom scenes of Philadelphia and New York, to the highest echelons of fashion and film.

She has walked the Tommy Hilfiger runway alongside Zendaya and Grace Jones; modeled for H&M; been featured in Vogue India; and appeared in a Levi’s ad campaign, as part of a series that also includedNaomi Osaka. She also starred as a transgender woman in “Port Authority,” an indie drama screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

There were plenty of hurdles along the way. In a telephone interview this month Ms. Bloom, who declined to give her age, talked about beauty, the abuse she suffered as a child and her superhero powers.

When did you learn you would be in Sports Illustrated?

I was on the set for my Levi’s campaign in December. I hadn’t gone to a casting, so when my agent called with the news, I felt mentally shaken. The idea that they were giving me this chance — I couldn’t take it in. Two weeks later I was on set.

When we did the shoot, I told them: no bikinis, no strings, no thongs, no nudity. I was going to wear a one piece, that’s what I feel most comfortable in. We shot 12 suits that day — some flirty, some sexy, some really strong. Each one captured a different part of me.

What do you hope viewers will see?

My autonomy and my anatomy are beautiful. I want people to see that, and to see that you can be respected, appreciated and loved regardless of your body shape, sexuality and the color of your skin.

Is the S.I. swimsuit issue, which has long been criticized for reinforcing gender stereotypes, the best vehicle for that?

It’s one way. This is a way of reaching the top of the food chain. Let’s at least have this moment and say that we had it, and then we can go on to dismantle it.