When fashion designers turn publishers

It may be wishful thinking thats ahead of its time much like saying digital will eventually kill print but its a question worth asking can brandcentric emags quash the hegemony of fashion magazines Mumbai designers Payal Singhal and Falguni amp Shane Peacock recently launched their digital magazines The October issue of The Peacock Magazine features Sonakshi Sinha on the cover with arms positioned just so leaving the sheer gown with handwork and ravelled feathers in focus Its the garment that Sonakshi wore when she walked the ramp for the designer couple in SeptemberDesigners Falguni amp Shane PeacockA flip into the issue leads you to the customary editorial this one featuring supermodel Ujjwala Raut snapped on the streets of Manhattan Segments on celebrity style making trends work for you and even a features section that carries interviews with stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania on working in Bollywood and celebrity fitness expert Yasmin Karachiwala discussing Katrina Kaifs physique follow next Much like any magazine with cracker production value The focus of course is on the said designer Every outfit featured here belongs to her label and is up for sale A click on a picture links you to a site where you can shop for that exact same outfit or accessoryThe October issue of The Peacock Magazine featuring Bollywood star Sonakshi SinhaThe magazine was designed for our digitallyinclined customers while the focus on video content is to appeal to the millennial clients who prefer to view quick celebrity bytes We could have produced a lookbook instead but an emagazine helps us engage with our clients on the brands activities and endorsements says FalguniJuices September 2016 cover featured Nargis Fakhri Ecommerce site Jabongs digi and print mag Juice folded in 2016The soontobelaunch November issue stars Jacqueline Fernandez on the cover How does a designer persuade a Bollywood star to feature in whats essentially a brand editorial product Sonakshi was our showstopper and she agreed right then to do this shoot Similarly with Jacqueline Its a symbiotic relationship you know she saysPS Diary Payal Singhals emagazineFashion emagazines are essentially a repository of shopable content a creative way to monetise what you publish with the use of clever tagging popups and light boxes Its a veritable multimedia festival curated to capture the shifting attention of the clickbait shopper with videos styling tips celebrity scoops party happenings all in the hope of inspiring a spot of shoppingFashion entrepreneur Pernia Qureshi launched The Magazine an emag associated with her fashion retail site in 2013Known for her resortwear line Singhal launched PS Diary a biannual magazine that hits the Internet in April and December Instagram didnt seem to do justice to our vast product line anymore she says of her decision to launch the emag It is a selfish way to create a brand book cover our collaborations products and celebrity endorsements but it works It doesnt require an access password so its open to anybody to visit and of course shop Every image takes you to a shopping page followed by the onsite checkout systemPayal SinghalEntirely selffunded the 44page emags debut issue focused on how to choose the perfect lehenga for a sangeet a cocktail and a reception accompanied by a lowdown on trending blouses The price for connecting directly with your clients is high as are logistical demands Putting out an issue including shoot budget and paying a parttime staff of three to four writersstylistseditorsdesigners could come anywhere close to Rs 20 lakhNonita Kalra editor Harpers Bazaar IndiaPearl Shah was editor of Juice one of the first brandled digital magazines launched in both digital and print avatars by ecommerce brand Jabong This was in 2014 Blurring the lines between content and commerce Jabong published the bimonthly mag that offered content you could click on and shop for The print version sold on newsstands for Rs 75 Juice helped give Jabong a voice and authority in the industry and the market says Shah The venture wrapped up in 2016 when Jabongs management saw a changeNarendra Kumar designerTheres a time and place for marketingdriven ideas Jabong arrived a bit too early feels Srimoyi Bhattacharya The digital publication industry in India is only seven years old which is also when reading from handheld devices started to gain power The founder of public relations firm Peepul Bhattacharya admits that she is keen to explore opportunities for her clients Manish Malhotra Nirav Modi Raw Mango Good Earth and Forevermark in the digital mag spaceIf you like an outfit in a glossy its common practice to tear off the page or take a photo and use it as reference at your next shopping trip at the designer store The format of a shopable emag offers instant gratification cutting out the waiting period she says quickly suggesting that more than one brand can benefit from a said issue If theres an opportunity for Nirav to collaborate with PS Diary Id definitely make the suggestion she says about the luxury jeweller she representsBoth Singhal and the Peacocks hope to monetise their enterprise through such collaborations or advertisements Falguni says real estate developer Rustomjee came on board to advertise in The Peacock Magazines first issue but for now they claim to be happy with increased visibility and customer traffic that the format has spawned Pernia Qureshi is an old hand at the gameIn 2013 the actor and fashion entrepreneur curated The Magazine a shopable monthly that was associated with her etail website Pernias PopUp Shop Theres your standard online shopping portal where its imperative that the focus is on the product But how do you make that product stylish and one the customer relates to By creating content around it with luxurious photo shoots Thats where the digital magazine comes in she says adding that an emags personal interactive nature allowed visitors to spend more time on her shopping websiteBut she agrees it comes at a cost Its an expensive affair because you want to be on par with credible fashion magazines You must hire the best hair and makeup artistes and photographers for the shoots But since all content is shopable you make your money she says sharing that she is in the midst of opening the site to advertisersWhere does this leave the conventional fashion magazine one that depends on designers like Singhal and Falguni for both content inspiration and advertising Emags cant topple fashion magazines at least not the top of the lot They will continue to survive because of the authority they carry And I dont see why a mag will stop supporting say the Falguni amp Shane label Theres enough opportunity out there for everyone says one editor requesting not to be namedSinghal and Falguni say they will continue to advertise with the two top fashion magazines the country produces I see no reason why we should stop They cater to an entirely different audience and we must remind potential customers that we are around Singhal feels Narendra Kumar used to edit Elle before he became a full time designer Having straddled both worlds he sees why emags are alluring The philosophy on which the designer mag is based reminds me of the time a group of designers including Versace Armani Calvin Klein Ceacuteline etc some of the biggest fashion players in the 90s advertised on the front pages of VogueBy creating their own frontofthebook editorials they in a way took over the power from editors Editor of Harpers Bazaar India Nonita Kalra is confident that good writing will never go out of style It is wonderful that fashion brands are using the magazine format for their own storytelling It makes our job easier when people in thefraternity use the same form of communication as us It widens the base for continuing a conversation with words on paper instead of with images on phonesBut of course we come from a place of journalism of authority and of reportage in an old school way This allows us the impartiality to review and assess the industry as a whole No designer will comment on his or her peers in their emags Which is why we remain the opinion makers The reader will still come to a magazine for its curationKumar sees this as a period of transition Magazines he says will be around for a while for the clout they enjoy over celebrities But I do see a future where designers wont need magazines To make this happen they will have to come up with ingenious smarter ways to market their emags