Fashion Magazines Turn the Page

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For so long you’ve had your favorite fashion magazines delivered to your mailbox.

Freshly sealed in their virgin plastic covering, the perfumed pages not yet opened to release their synthetic lotus blossom scent, when it occurs to you something’s wrong, and it’s not just that lotus blossoms totally don’t smell like alcohol.

And on this particular day you think to yourself that driving a hybrid, eating less red meat and drinking from your reusable bottle isn’t enough, that maybe getting a monthly subscription, though indulgent and fun, isn’t very, well – to overuse the term – eco.

You’re not alone, lady friend. And by the looks of magazine sales, you’re getting more options to turn to the computer and flip.

Anna Griffin founded high-brow eco-magazine Coco Eco in September 2008; the website says “this is the modern girl’s style guide on the road to being gorgeous, glamorous and green, and your new source of everything eco-chic, that’s good for our planet, and good for you too.”

I agree.

Though original in her initial approach, other publications like Lucky and Women’s Wear Daily have invaded the once tacky idea of making high fashion internet-friendly.

According to an article in Econsultancy, September 2007 had fashion behemoth Vogue at its height of ad pages. Weighing in at almost five pounds, the magazine had 840 pages. 727 of those were ads. But ad pages have been in decline ever since. This month, the magazine came in at 429 pages, with a 36% decline in ad revenue from last year.

No surprise to any of us that the magazines are failing for lack of advertising and a paucity of creative innovation. Didn’t they see this coming?

Look for more publications from Conde and Hearst to jump on the bandwagon incorporating video and social media from fashion shows, design weeks and yes, I’m guessing advertisers.

Or just follow us – why would you want to follow anyone else?

Amy DuFault

Amy DuFault is a conscious lifestyle writer, consultant and fashion instigator. She resides in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.