W September 2010 : Hollywood's New It Girls by Inez & Vinoodh

Stefano Tonchi confessed that he never really read W before his appointment to editor-in-chief of the title earlier this year. At a lunch today at Condé Nast's headquarters at 4 Times Square held to unveil Tonchi's W makeover launching with the September issue, the editor said that he always flipped through the magazine, which he repeatedly called "image-driven," but never spent time with the articles. That's because there was never much to read in W, with much of the editorial content consisting of newsy bits derived from the magazine's parent publication WWD. But the pictures were always fantastic, and Tonchi aims to maintain that, while adding a lot more words — hopefully of substance — to make W a well-rounded magazine in itself.

The September articles include ones we actually want to read, such as the piece on women getting plastic surgery too soon in life that compares Lindsay Lohan's lips to "soggy hamburger buns"; an in-depth profile of Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci; and Caroline Weber's first-person essay that notes that the curvy movement happening in fashion right now is really just an embrace of big breasts, not necessarily fat on other parts of the figure. So W finally feels like a magazine you want to take home and read, rather than something that will occupy too much real estate in your trash can moments after a quick flip-through.

Tonchi noted W's unique position in the fashion-magazine marketplace. It must compete with other fashion titles, including sister publications at Condé Nast like Vogue, but isn't a newsstand-driven publication like its competitors. The magazine is physically too big to fit well on newsstands, and therefore measures success in terms of subscribers. (The magazine's size is not something Tonchi wanted to tamper with, in the interest of maintaining W's stunning visuals.) But not feeling pressured to engage in the cutthroat newsstand-sale game allows Tonchi more freedom with his covers: He doesn't need an instantly recognizable face to move issues and can give that slot to relative unknowns.

The September issue has three different covers and eight cover stars, young actresses Yaya DaCosta, Jennifer Lawrence, Greta Gerwig, Kat Dennings, Jessica Chastain, Emma Roberts, Zoë Kravitz, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The cover-story author, Lynn Hirschberg, W's new editor-at-large after following Tonchi over from the Times, reiterated Tonchi's view that magazine covers look too similar these days, adding that they want theirs to "feel alive in a different way." And what better way than with two hot, young girls almost kissing each other?

Creative director Jody Quon, formerly photo director of New York, said they wanted to have one image of the girls in a kiss situation, and knew it would work best with the pair rather than the groups of three. Tonchi was pleased to point out that while this shot is provocative, none of the ladies are dressed provocatively. And indeed, you'll find nary a puckered breast on the cover or the spread of the ladies inside the magazine.

The website relaunches next month and will begin hosting the screen-test videos Hirschberg used to do for the Times. Same content, different channel, as Tonchi described it. He hopes to turn W's site into fashion's YouTube — a (hopefully) groundbreaking online archive of fashion films, from things W produces itself to Dior's latest commercial with Marion Cotillard. He's not interested in a news-driven website, and made it sound like the magazine will remain light on web staffing for a little while.

So while the magazine feels plenty new, and plenty made-over, if not drastically, it's not revolutionary. It feels like a girlier version of Vanity Fair, which is not a bad thing. It's beautiful, it's glossy, it's fun to read and gaze at, but it's still full of super-skinny, super-tall models, and gobs of clothes, shoes, bags, and vacations that most people can't afford but land in fashion magazines everywhere. Tonchi and his team may have changed a magazine, but the system remains the same.
NYMag
 
What’s new about the new W?
Lot’s of things! Dimensionally, the magazine is still huge (thank goodness), making ad campaigns and editorials all the more fun to look at. However, the logo is different – black and more italicized. And there is a tagline: “Who, What, When, Where and Why In The World of Style.” Fittingly, most of those words start with the letter “W,” but more importantly, the phrase is indicative of the direction Stefano has taken with the magazine.

The vibe we got from Tonchi’s spiel was that fashion is and always will be the central focus of W, but the new W aims to go beyond clothing by telling the story of the interesting people, places and things that are fashionable in their ability to change the way we live and think. More literally, the magazine itself is organized into the five sections Who, What, When, Where and Why. New online editor Christina Caldwell is also revamping the website to incorporate W’s five “W’”s. Wmagazine.com will also feature Lynn’s “Screen Tests,” which got nominated for three Emmys over at T.

The Cover Story
From her input throughout the discussion, it sounded like Lynn Hirschberg had a lot if not everything to do with the cover story. The three rotating covers feature eight up-and-coming American actresses including Emma Roberts, Zoe Kravitz, Jennifer Lawrence and YaYa DaCosta, who has a small role in The Kids Are Alright and is probably the first ANTM contestant ever to cover a major fashion mag. The story is mostly about 20-year-old Lawrence, who Hirschberg believes will be nominated for an academy award for her role in Winter’s Bone. Nineteen-year-old Emma Roberts is all grown up, photographed in nothing but a black bra and tells W, “I’ve never done a full-on sex scene…but we’ll see.” Hirschberg commented, “You’ve seen her before, but you’ve never seen her like that.”

Lynn explained that she liked the feeling of movement created by the three-cover format and that the group was chosen because they are all young, genuinely talented American actresses who are (hopefully–Hirschberg was admittedly a little worried about Kravitz after seeing Twelve) headed in a similarly smart, bold directions and avoiding what she called the “Chacecrawfordization” of most young American actors. Interpret that as you will.

Other Cool Stuff
There are lots of other amazing features to be found in the new issue, including…
- “Prematurely Plastic,” a story on premature plastic surgery
- “Tisci’s Tribe,” an in-depth profile on Givenchy’s artistic director and his muses
- “The East Enders,” A photo series and accompanying story about awesomely stylish kids from London’s East End, which Tonchi said he thinks of as “fashion without credit”
- A stunning 2-page close-up of model Lindsay Wixson’s lips
- “Last Exit to Brooklyn,” an Ed Hopper – inspired fashion story shot in Red Hook, Brooklyn
- More stunning fashion editorials with Lara Stone and Georgia May Jagger
-”Louise’s Last Year,” a somewhat haunting series of the last unpublished photos ever taken of the late artist Louise Bourgeois.

What’s Next?
According to Tonchi, he has barely begun incorporating all the new things he wants to do with W and the next issue will have “a lot of surprises.” On W’s talked-about September issue documentary film, he said, “It’s not really about the September issue at all.” It will be more about the whole process of revamping and creating a magazine and they are still working on it.
Our verdict: We like the new W. A lot. And literally more than half of the magazine is advertisements–which are annoying to flip through but also a hopeful sign regarding the health of the mag. We’re hoping this is just a September issue thing and can’t wait to see what other stories W has to tell us about the world of style.
Fashionista
 
oooooh Im excited to see Zoe and Yaya

Me too! Glad to know there are industry insiders aware of black women that aren't Mrs. O or Zoe Saldana :innocent:

I'm really anxious to be getting this one in my mailbox... at the very least, it's bound to be a whole new direction for W, even moreso than I thought initially.
 
^and even Zoe isn't getting the covers she should....Anyway I like all the pics, and Yaya looks amazing. I think the profile shot of her is dramatic and probably stronger than a front shot would've been.
 
Im looking forward to seeing this issue, but the following quote really saddens me:(:cry:

source | dailyfrontrow.com

7. Where in the world is Alex White?
W's fashion director was missing at lunch today, and only one of her fashion stories (she shot three) was featured in Tonchi’s meticulously edited presentation. However, she earned a serious shout-out in Tonchi’s editor’s letter. But The Daily can't help wonder...will Patrick McCarthy's last remaining magic-maker be around in 2011?[/SIZE]
 
I thought FASHION was about change, new ideas and "New Expectations" Most comments on here seem to be from people who dislike Change and new ideas. Goes to show your "Passion" for Fashion. :ninja:

EXACTLY! Though I guess it's much easier for many to bash and "hate" than to say something constructive.

And consider this: Yaya is getting so much flack because she's the only one whose NAME YOU KNOW. She came from a reality show, so you can sit back and throw rotten tomatoes and judge her and for whatever reason that makes you feel good. Yaya has not only been in a recurring role in Ugly Betty, she's been on Law & Order, Army Wives, and several other shows. She's been in 6 films, including The Kids are Alright which screened at Sundance and has be widely praised among critics.

Maybe, just MAYBE, what W is trying to do is have a little bit of foresight, rather than just push a bunch of names/faces that you already know. If all you want is the latest bandwagon, you should not be reading W. You should be reading People.
 
This is sounding better and better, imo. I can't wait to buy the issue /and watch the documentary, which I hope will be substantial.
 
originaldu.jpg

(NEW YORK) Consider it one for the press! The back page of Stefano Tonchi's September W certainly covered the right party---Valentino Garavani's bash during Paris couture---but instead of running a splendid holding shot of A-list guests like Gwyneth Paltrow, Claire Danes, or even Garavani himself, Tonchi opted for an adorable image of...his old besties Suzy Menkes and Hilary Alexander, who were presumably there to cover. Now that's journalistic camaraderie!
dailyfrontrow
 
is that a new "W" logo? I like it, but i HATE those cover..and that Jessica Chastain terrible Red lace-front contraption she has on her head..FAIL by all means
 
Hmm. I have to say I don't love the new look, but it has potential. It's not that it's "trashy" or "cheap", there's just a very strong 90's feel to the font and the simplicity of the text, harkening back to the good (?) ole' days before Photoshop 7. It doesn't work for this particular-style cover shoot, but if they lose the crammed text and caption spacing ( -- Ha! I wish! :rolleyes: --) and the randomly placed and unnecessary "who what where blah blah" (a tagline? :yuk: ), the new look has much greater versatility than the previous one, which really looked just out of place on anything other than W's standard studio shoots. It's actually a bit T magazine-ish. But with... text.

As a whole, though, none work as covers. The font just doesn't work with the slick styling, and the photo quality looks very plain and underwrought. With a layout this simple the photo just needs to have more details (than this, anyway) to create at least some kind of a contrast between the two, instead of looking like it's been slapped together with a low budget and unrealistic schedule.

But at the same time, this is just the first "new" cover. So it's not a home run, but I'd still wait and see how they work the new look in future issues before dismissing it as a failure, because there's more amiss about these covers than the layout alone. And I sincerely think there's a genuine cause for optimism here, so I'll just call this the test run and let it be. ^_^

^^I strongly disagree!!! The old one was such a great looking logo.

And here I have to strongly disagree. ;) The old logo looked nice only on a very limited range of (studio-shot) photos. On the rest, it looked exactly what it was -- pasted on a picture.

The casting, on the other hand, is such a disappointment. The redhead looks gorgeous on her cover (channeling Tilda Swinton :heart: there a little, I think), but I just can't be bothered to give two craps about anyone whose flagged by the press as "the future of the [insert industry here]," as not only are those predictions often at least 50% off the mark and/or old, there can be very little interesting about them to tell before they actually have made some kind of a name for themselves. It's one thing when I just don't know who somebody is, but when a magazine tells me I'm not supposed to know them yet anyway, that tells me I needn't bother with them yet, either. Perhaps some of these girls will make it big in the future and there will come a time when I "should" know who these girls are. In the mean time, however... B) (Though I have to confess that when I read "Hollywood's New It Girls" in the thread title, I really wanted to pass a little gas at that already. :angel: )

On another note, good grief I&V portraiture bores me so. I tend to rip on Demarchelier and Leibovitz for their drab portraiture, but come to think of it, at least their boring looks honed.
 
^There arent saying you should know these
girls on the cover...they want you to get to know them:innocent::rolleyes:
and some of these girls have made names for themselves whether
you have been paying attention or not...they are more American based girls:flower:
 
^There arent saying you should know these
girls on the cover...they want you to get to know them:innocent::rolleyes:

I didn't say the magazine says I "should" know them from before, I said they're telling me that I'm not supposed to know them yet, but that these are the girls I will know in the future and should therefore make a note of. My point being that I dislike the mentality that I should make a note of someone before they've actually achieved something to make a note of (which, however, can be subjective to a degree). If less magazines would brand up and coming stars as "the next generation of superstars," perhaps features like this would feel more like interesting and sincere predictions than mere rhetoric. That isn't to say that I expect W to hit a home run here with an 8/8, but 0-2/8 (which is the standard rate of accuracy for articles of this kind and my sincere prediction) is hardly worth such boasting as this. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against seeing new people featured from time to time, I'd just rather have them called as they are - new; nothing more, nothing less. As opposed to this, anyway.

But that's just me. ^_^ :flower:
 
I for one can't wait to see the new W. I really like the cover, but always like the work of I+V.
 
August 13, 2010, 12:18 pm
What Does W Stand For?
By CATHY HORYN

THE newly revamped W now comes with a slanted logo, as if to say, “Let’s go!” The energized logo might be the most promising thing about the magazine, which has a new editor, Stefano Tonchi, formerly the editor of T: The New York Times Magazine, as well as a new creative director, Jody Quon. I’ve been a reader of W since its broadsheet days, when it was driven by the curiosity and often deliciously snippy tongue of its founder, John Fairchild. In 2000, I wrote a profile of its then creative director, Dennis Freedman, and the way he cultivated photographers and helped bring to life sometimes-difficult ideas in fashion and art. In its long history W, at its best, was a scrappy journalistic player with a knowing sense of the people it covered.

Though Mr. Tonchi will need to produce several more issues before his W can be assessed fairly, it is clear from the September issue that he wants to restore its journalistic flavor. The cover tagline promises “Who, What, Where, When, and Why in the World of Style,” and the inside pages are spelled out accordingly. The front-of-the-book has the usual newsy blend of features on fashion, beauty and travel, with some of the photography and layouts lacking a sharpness that would help separate them from the ads. There is a lengthy profile of Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy that describes his friendships with Marina Abramovic and Courtney Love. Party coverage is scant, though that will probably change in time. I thought the fashion spreads were generally strong — in particular, a feature shot in Brooklyn by Mert and Marcus, with right-on styling by Alex White, and Tim Walker’s sweet images of eccentric young Londoners. (I adored a young man named Scottee who favors adult baby clothes.)

Reviewing the new W, Daily Front Row focused on the lack of party pages. New York Magazine noted approvingly that there was more to read, then said it’s new but not revolutionary: “It’s still full of super-skinny, super-tall models, and gobs of clothes, shoes, bags, and vacations that most people can’t afford but land in fashion magazines everywhere.”

Despite the variety of articles, the view of the magazine seems surprisingly insular. I had the feeling I had boarded a cute little spaceship and was zipping around a world unfazed by everything that has happened in the last couple of years. I don’t expect W to deal directly with realities like joblessness or stressed European bankers or the emerging clout of Chinese consumers, but surely there is a need to put stylishness in a new context — beyond Hollywood and art, which is Mr. Tonchi’s comfort zone. Otherwise the magazine could turn out to be, as New York suggested, “a girlier version of Vanity Fair”— which is a bad thing for Condé Nast.

The world may have been a smaller, cozier place when Mr. Fairchild was editing W, but he knew how to relate events in the background to the socialites hopping around the foreground: ’80s trophy dressing to ’80s corporate raiders. With a number of articles in the new W, I wondered: Why am I reading this? What’s the big picture? The Tisci profile, for one, covered all the bases, but ultimately it’s another story about a young design maverick at an old Paris house. Why does he matter and what’s changed, if anything, because of his fashion? Over all, the perspective of the magazine was small-frame. W doesn’t need more stuff to read. Rather, it needs a clearer, more authoritative reason to read it.
nytimes
 
^ Let's Go! As in "let's go find a new magazine!" Not liking these changes too much right now. He's making too many changes to quickly. We already have Vanity Fair...don't need another one!
 
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