COMING ATTRACTIONS: When word got out last summer that W magazine had invited a film crew into its offices, the fashion commentariat took to wondering if Stefano Tonchi and company had their own “The September Issue” in store. The answer is: Not quite. The end product of the shoot, a short dubbed “The Remaking of W,” will make its proper debut tonight, but an early viewing made clear that any such comparison would be a stretch. The film clocks in at only about 10 minutes and is more of a promotion for Tonchi’s new-look W than a feature-length documentary. The result makes sense, given the short is the brainchild of publisher Nina Lawrence, who told WWD the film is intended as a star turn for both the new W brand and its editorial architect. “It became obvious very quickly that Stefano was very camera-ready,” Lawrence said of the title’s editor. Over the movie’s brief run time, Tonchi proves equally adept at schmoozing with Amtrak conductors and Sofia Coppola alike, while also explaining his revamp of the book in one-on-ones with the camera. (W commissioned the film from Legs, the production company behind contributor Lynn Hirschberg’s “Screen Test” Web series.)
“The Remaking of W” will appear online Wednesday as the centerpiece of “Fashion on Film,” a virtual film festival set to run on the magazine’s Web site through Jan. 15. The portal aims to be something of a fashion YouTube. In addition to the in-house effort, “Fashion on Film” will house various short-form films from fashion brands, a spot for user-generated content and a channel curated by art consultant Hervé Mikaeloff. Lawrence said the festival is a “precursor to the look and feel” of a wider relaunch of the site tied to New York Fashion Week in February. “Our digital expression will be images and motion,” Lawrence said of how the new site will distinguish itself from the pack.
