The downunder Allure of Jezebel?

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Could Gawker Media's high profile ladyblog Jezebel be heading to Australia for a slice of the A$1.8billion Oz online advertising pie? That's what some are wondering, after spotting this seek.com.au advertisement from Allure Media, which is looking for editorial staff for the imminent launch of "a well-known women's lifestyle network" in this market. The Sydney-based digital publisher already owns the Oz licenses to Gawker Media's Defamer, Gizmodo, Kotaku and Lifehacker - in addition to the local license to parenting blog Babble - a network it claims attracts over 1.65 million readers per month. UPDATE 14/09/09: IT'S NOT JEZEBEL - ALLURE MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF THE SUGAR NETWORK INTO AUSTRALIA.

Jezebel, whose promo line is “Celebrity, Sex, Fashion for women, Without Airbrushing”, attracts a monthly audience of 1.4million according to Quantcast, 1.1million of that hailing from the US, with 49percent female readership.

And while the site's edgy, neo-feminist slant has proven popular with readers, others have called out what they claim to be the double-standards of some Jezebel writers who lament the sexualisation of women, while posting degrading images of themselves.

Over the past 12 months the site garnered considerable interest over the mystery surrounding its anonymous model blogger "Tatiana", who unmasked herself last month as Jenna Sauers (although her ID came as no surprise to readers of this blog).

Allure Media's md Chris Janz did not return calls this afternoon and two media buyers told frockwriter that they had as yet heard nothing.

According to Fusion Strategy media analyst Steve Allen, a local Jezebel would be "an interesting move indeed. Allure has come onto our radar because they are building traffic and assets quite quickly".

Indie mags lead the RUSSH to social media

It's fascinating to witness the pace at which some are diving into social media. Not surprisingly perhaps, when it comes to Australian fashion magazine publishing, it's the independents who are leading the way. Without the resources of massive online portals such as ninemsn.com.au and news.com.au, to which the biggest titles have access, the indies are thinking outside the square. Here is a video just-posted by RUSSH magazine on its day-old Tumblr blog. It's a "vidflip" of issue 29. The blog and Vimeo account are on top of Facebook (4,349 fans) and MySpace (10,538 friends) pages, as well as a Twitter feed (1,451 followers). Coincidentally, the launch of the RUSSH blog follows five days after a release from indie fashion rival, frankie, entitled, "Frankie doesn't freak out in face of new media".

In the press release, magazine retailer Sahil Merchant, from Mag Nation, talks up the title:

“Just think about how many people chat about a frankie article over coffee. The magazine becomes almost a social lubricant, which elevates it beyond a mere collection of words and images.

"The same cannot be said about lots of other magazines, which are simply content in print. These are the ones that don't get the new media environment we are in, and will ultimately disappear”.

The release also quotes frankie's social media chops:

frankie.com.au (37,287 unique visitors/month)
Facebook (17,760 fans)
MySpace (13,962 friends)
Twitter (4,600 followers)

That's on top of, the release notes, the magazine's 29,135 audited readers.

RAFW in The New York Times

Here is a mini RAFW wrapup that I have today in The Moment - that's the blog attached to The New York Times' style/design-nosed T Magazine. The words accompany a photo gallery of backstage shots taken by Sonny Vandevelde, who had a daily Photo of The Moment on the same site throughout last week. It's not the NYT paper per se, but is nevertheless my first piece anywhere near 'The Grey Lady'. Hope to do more. I did not have much room, so focussed on some of the newer names, including Anaessia, my personal pick of the first Ready to Wear group show. Anaessia's Swarovski crystal-encrusted skull print sheath dress looked, I noted on Twitter during the show, like something Michelle Obama might wear - if only she had the nerve. (Here's a vid of the collection).