What is style without substance anyway?
Style.com was the go-to website for anyone in the fashion industry, until now. Part of the Conde Nast stable (yes, the same people who are behind the Vogue), the website had set the style standards when it comes to fashion week reporting. From images to runway reviews and trends, it was a one-stop shop.
A couple of years ago, Conde Nast decided to take this content driven website and repurpose it into an e-commerce destination. About $100 million was earmarked for the publishing house’s new project. It seemed like a perfect marriage of content and commerce. Yet, Conde Nast recently announced shutting down the portal with immediate effect. The website’s traffic is redirected to Farfetch.com, the British international fashion website that works with independent boutiques from around the world. Conde Nast was an early investor in Farfetch.
The initial reaction given by most in the industry was that while Conde Nast understands content, ecommerce is not its strong point. Of course, the future of fashion is online. In the past few months, we have seen the launch of two websites that focus on high-end fashion: www.ounass.com and www.themodist.com. Conde Nast’s move, therefore, suggests that for online shopping destination, content is not as important as we like to think it is.
But how can this be? Fashion has to be one the most social media friendly industries you can find. It’s all about imagery, and that’s precisely the reason behind the explosion of fashion bloggers.
The website that is considered the pioneer of fashion e-commerce, Net-A-Porter (or YOOX Net-A-Porter as it is now called), launched a print magazine, Porter,
While Farftech is known for curating truly chic clothing and accessories, its editorial section is weak
three years ago. With six issues in the year, the publication is edited by former Harper’s Bazaar Editor-inChief Lucy Yeomans. This “shoppable” glossy has seen a slow but steady growth in its readership, even though the market for print magazines is shrinking. MatchesFashion.com has The Style Report, which is attracting a lot of traffic. And closer to home The Modist hired the former fashion director of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Sally Matthews, to handle its content.
If you log on to Farfetch, you will notice that the website has an editorial section. While Farftech is known for curating truly chic clothing and accessories, its editorial section is weak.
So it seems Farfetch was the right target for Conde Nast. The shopping destination already has a cult following, and is growing. Perhaps, what it needs is content to make it the style standard for e-commerce. What makes this website a true “unicorn” is that it works with the traditional brick and mortar form of retail — as it curates from fashion boutiques all over the world. Farfetch may have a valuation that is in excess of $1 billion and its growth last year may have been well over 50 per cent but it is still not one of the big daddies of fashion commerce. And perhaps what was missing was the expertise that Conde Nast can provide through its content. I have a feeling this new relationship between Conde Nast and Farfetch will result in some new and very exiting fashion content. When you look at this union — it makes pure business sense. After all what is style without substance?