Forbes helps launch digital pretty picture mag FlipGloss
FlipGloss, a digital magazine devoted almost exclusively to fashion photography, has kicked off its public beta with the help of Forbes Media. While it also publishes photos of hotels, spas and lavishly designed kitchens and bathrooms, the site might be better described as an online luxury shopping mall (and a beautiful one at that — the site itself is about as swanky as its photographs).
Users can navigate through various categories, and when they hover their cursor over a photo, certain elements (a handbag here, an end table there) light up. Clicking on them calls up new windows detailing where the pieces are from and often how much they cost.
As TechCrunch notes, this system makes FlipGloss’ editorial content virtually inseparable from advertisements. For example, the link to the jewelry category takes you to a page of what are essentially full-page magazine ads for brands like Gucci, Chanel and Kimora Lee Simmons. Even the link simply called “Beaches” redirects you to a page split between supermodels clad in purchasable bathing suits and sunglasses, and tropical resorts where you can stay presumably after you buy said items. Needless to say, few of these featured products have realistic middle-class price tags.
Still, this never stopped magazine empire Conde Nast — primary peddler of luxury lifestyle goods that it is — from attracting a mainstream audience. And FlipGloss likely signals Forbes’ desire to get in on this action. While the company fully funds the online magazine, FlipGloss has retained its independence so far, drawing on the advising expertise of Forbes publisher emeritus Jim Berrian, as well as Marc Bodnick of Elevation Partners, and Dave Goldberg and Bob Roback of Yahoo Music. The latter two might seem like strange fits, but FlipGloss was actually founded by Yahoo Music alums.
A spokesperson says that no other site is doing the exact same thing, though the concept is similar to that of celebrity photo gallery Wonderwall. But it might encounter more competition from the online properties of established fashion magazines like Style.com, Conde Nast’s web-based version of Vogue, and even Elle.com and HarpersBazaar.com. All of these sites offer high-quality fashion photography on top of editorial and video content, and references to buy the pieces in question. They also benefit from the brand recognition established by their print predecessors. Certainly, FlipGloss’s interface is unique and could very well catch on, but it might need to lower its demographic sights to successfully swim with these sharks. Today’s economy doesn’t exactly lend itself to leisurely perusal of Louis Vuitton handbags and sun decks in the Seychelles.
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About the Author, Camille Ricketts
Camille is the lead writer for GreenBeat. She came to VentureBeat from Google where she worked on its traditional platforms team, particularly in TV. Before that, she was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York and London. Follow her on Twitter at @camillericketts, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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