Farewell to fashion's style.com

Style.com will become an e-commerce retail destination and will now compete with sites like www.netaporter.com.

Since I started my career in fashion journalism, www.style.com has been a part of my life. This digital platform brought to you by the guru of fashion publishing Conde Nast was originally conceived as the online home of the company's flagship magazine Vogue US. Within hours of shows in Milan, London or Paris, you could access reviews by some of the fashion world's most informed commentators on this website. Before a fashion week had ended, it told you what the trends of the next season would be. It was immediate, intelligent, informative, and in many ways changed the way fashion was reported. According to the site's web media kit, it receives 307 million page views.

If you log on to style.com it will redirect to the new www.voguerunway.com. The new, clean look is much easier on the eye. The timing of this new direction is perfect-as September marks the start of the Fall/Winter season. VogueRunway houses the archives of Style.com and be the new address for Conde Nast's runway coverage. Style.com will become an e-commerce retail destination and will now compete with sites like www.netaporter.com. It's actual launch date seems unclear as of now.
While the shopper in me is excited about an on-line "Vogue" store, the journalist in me is not sure about the idea of fashion's pioneering content website being turned into a commerce based portal. What does this say about the future of fashion journalism? Conde Nast has always been the trendsetter when it comes to fashion journalism. Entering the US$ 1.5 billion online retail market, which is already highly competitive, is a risk, but then risk is what drives the fashion industry.
Since the runway season does not start until September 10th, when New York Fashion Week begins, for now voguerunway.com, is focusing on its archives. Travel back to the 90's and take a look at the 25 Most unforgettable fashion show of the decade. Take a peek into the love lives of the supermodel's of that decade. Remember Former French First Lady Carla Bruni's love triange with Eric Clapton and Mike Jagger or Cindy Crawford's not so happy love story with Richard Gere. Yes, the 90's was a time when supermodels and actors were the leading stars of fashion. It does help remind you that change is always a constant in fashion!

Sujata Assomull is Consulting Fashion Editor with Khaleej Times. Follow her on Twitter @stylesuj, and on Instagram at instagram.com/sujstyle

 
 

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