It’s the end of an era Voyeurs, cue the Funeral March and don your best all black couture because we’re bidding farewell to a fashion favourite…… InStyle magazine is no more.
Waaaaaaaaaaah!!! I LOVE InStyle magazine, I love that it’s the perfect mix of the high end, unaffordable but lust worthy couture of Vogue mixed with the levelheaded, sensibility of ELLE. It’s the gateway fashion magazine of choice but that’s all about to change.
Time Inc have announced the closure of the UK print edition of InStyle magazine and plan to make the brand digital download only, a ‘bold move’ as described by Time Inc themselves. If you were hoping for time to grieve then you’re out of luck there too as the December issue which published November 3rd will be the last ever print version of the magazine.
The UK edition of the fashion magazine, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, saw a huge drop in print sales this year as its circulation fell by almost 18% in the first six months of 2016 to 121,000 copies a month. Bummer.
“What we have achieved with InStyle over the last few years has been hugely rewarding and the team has, rightly, won numerous awards and nominations for their work across print and digital,But the fashion world is changing dramatically, the way our audience interacts with it is changing and we have to change to meet that challenge. With a focus on delivering the InStyle experience across all digital platforms, we can really give our audience 24-hour access to all the fashion and beauty looks, trends and brands they clearly have such a huge appetite for.” Charlotte Moore, InStyle Editor
“This new focus for InStyle means we can propel it to a leading position in the UK digital fashion space. InStyle’s authority combined with this significantly boosted content offering will make it a compelling destination for consumers and a very attractive proposition for our advertising partners.” Justine Southall, Managing Director for Fashion & Beauty, Time Inc.
With Conde Nast and Hearst announcing similar plans relating to 24 hour digital content, it’s evident that most editorial content is consumed online and in a digital age, it’s got people asking, is there still a need for print publication? Vogue Editor Alexandra Schulman certainly thinks so, vowing that British Vogue will never devolve to digital only, despite Vogue Online producing most of its readership. She believes there is value in print and most fashion folk will agree.
Me? I’m with Alexandra on this one, I think there will always be a place for print copy in fashion. Certainly where the icons are concerned – give me a fresh edition of Vogue, LOVE or CR Fashion Book over the equivalent online, there’s something great about seeing the collections in print. Sure, the small, lesser known publications may fade away to nothing but the bibles? The Holy Grail? Well they’ll always be here because Voyeurs, print will always be in fashion.
Pixie xo
