NEW YORK — Spin-offs are to fashion magazines what gerbil-sized dogs are to the Paris Hilton set: accessories. So when it came time for Elle to extend its brand with a new launch, it was inevitable that shoes, bags and jewelry would spring to mind. The first issue of Elle Accessories goes on sale Aug. 29.
While only 400,000 copies will be distributed this time, according to group publishing director Carol Smith, it marks the beginning of a new era of expansion for the Elle brand, which already includes Elle Décor and Ellegirl. “This is a definite launch of a definite division, which will definitely have more than accessories,” she said.
In fact, she said, Elle parent Hachette Filipacchi Media, without waiting to see how the first issue of Elle Accessories sells, has already committed to publishing two more in 2006. It was a relatively easy call, she added, because the spin-off, unlike most launches, will make money on its first issue, assuming it hits what Smith described as a conservative newsstand sales estimate. The issue’s 190 pages include 108 ad pages from 79 advertisers, 16 of whom have never run in Elle. (Those advertisers who are in the flagship were able to apply their corporate discount to pages in Elle Accessories.) These include Dollhouse, Socco, Fope and The Sak.
In another somewhat unusual move, Hachette did not bother to conduct any testing beforehand to assess potential consumer demand for the title. “We know how well accessories resonate in the magazine, so it’s almost as though we’ve done the consumer research,” Smith said. “If you put a line on the cover about shoes or about beauty, you sell more copies. It’s a fact.” (Does that mean Elle Beauty could be the next in line for takeoff? Smith calls that “a good assumption.”)
To those who think a fashion magazine entirely about accessories is like a food magazine just about appetizers, editor Kelly Killoren Bensimon points out that they constitute one of the most dynamic sectors of the retail landscape. Chains including Gap, J. Crew, Club Monaco and Banana Republic have all expanded their accessories collections to take advantage of the boom. “If you want to be a big brand now, you have to have accessories,” said Bensimon, who is married to Gilles Bensimon, international creative director for all Elle editions.
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The premiere issue of Elle Accessories, she said, has a “European sensibility,” which, among other things, means it is organized more like a book than a magazine, with content divided into sections she refers to as “chapters.” “I want readers to stop, breathe, look at what I’m doing on a page and then move on,” she said. “If you already feel proprietary about a brand, I want you to feel more proprietary, because I’m going to give you all the information about it.”