Will Online Fashion Media Be The End Of Print Media?

Technology is ever-growing and has gradually seeped into every facet of life. It is no more limited to entertainment, it has also forayed into the fashion world. Just like many other industries, technology has made a massive impact on the fashion industry as well, changing the way world views fashion and the business that dictates the latest fashion trends. Fashion-forward media has also become insanely popular, connecting the consumers and fashion influencers even better, defining the future of fashion.
Today while taking a whirl around online fashion magazines, you never bump into the thought of how the world viewed fashion before the coming of the internet. For a long time, magazines were the primary way of the world to connect with the fashion industry. But in the past few years, a plethora of online magazines and fashion newspapers have emerged.

How Print Media Enhanced The Fashion Industry? 

[caption id="attachment_13031" align="alignnone" width="800"] Magazines[/caption]
Earlier fashion magazines and newspapers were an essential and only component of the fashion industry. They were the authentic medium that conveyed and promoted the latest fashion trends, along with the fashion designer's vision to the eventual consumer.
Donneau de Visé, in 1678, first included an illustrated description of French fashion with suppliers' names in his magazine. Thereafter, it was no turning back, from the mid-eighteenth century fashion news was included in the well-celebrated ladies handbooks and diaries. By the end of 18th-century interest in fashion was widespread and fashion world became a popular category that people wanted to read about, it was included in quality general readership journals such as the Frankfurt Journal des Luxus und der Moden and Ackermann's Repository of the Arts, Literature, Commerce, Fashion and Politics. By the middle of the 19th century, the print media industry profited from improvements in printing methods, lower paper costs, and lower taxation. As the fashion industry witnessed growth, the fashion publication scene was stimulated by developments at Women's Wear Daily (WWD). Fashion world back then was increasingly dependent on advertising, the conventional magazine was challenged if fashion deviated from the latest fashion trends.
[caption id="attachment_13032" align="alignnone" width="800"] Printing Machine[/caption]
The fashion industry has developed immensely in the last decade, today the speculated value of fashion industry is 3,000 billion dollars (3 trillion dollars), along with 2% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Countries like Italy, France, UK, and India have been celebrated as the emerging fashion hot-spot. Merely a decade back, luxury fashion brands like Gucci, Chanel, Tommy Hilfiger, and others saw huge potential in Indian markets and invested in it. Media has been the main reason behind the acceptance of fashion and brands among the masses. Print media played an essential role to constantly keep the audiences updated with the latest fashion trends introduced by the celebrities of the silver screen and small screen.
Fashion and media go hand in hand, they have always been interconnected, fashion magazines like Femina, played a remarkable role in making the masses connect better with the fashion world and designers. Print media has played a significant role in boosting the fashion industry in India. It has helped in creating awareness about a particular brand, designer, or fashion show in the minds of people. Currently, people are consuming more media than ever before but it’s not the print media anymore.

How Digital India Movement Changed The Dynamics Of The Indian Fashion Industry? 

[caption id="attachment_13040" align="alignnone" width="800"] Kareena Kapoor Khan for VOUGE Cover[/caption]
The Indian government on 1st July 2015 launched digital India, it was initiated to ensure that the government services are made accessible to citizens electronically by internet connectivity. It also aimed at making the country digitally empowered in the field of technology.
Since this movement, the internet has been dabbling in the fashion world, unlike earlier print media is not the only source of truth now, the future of fashion is going online!
Today, the internet has taken over every industry, everything's practically done online and print media is no exception. In the digital India world, online fashion news has become a continuous trickle over social media. People do not have to wait for the newspapers to get the news. Fashion readers became active after the movement and initiated creating content that competes with print media. Fashion influencers started utilising the internet, be it a short-form video or tweets or blogs or graphics, each time the fashion influencer gained a subscriber, print media had a new competitor.

What Are The Advantages Of Online Fashion Media?

[caption id="attachment_13029" align="alignnone" width="800"] fashion influencers[/caption]
Online fashion media influences the consumers by developing public interest and excitement for the latest fashion trends through the wide promotion of glamorous photographs, celebrity endorsements and informative articles, it also tells about fashion forecasts and the future of fashion in the coming years. Following are some of the major advantages of online fashion media-

1. Online fashion media creates an opportunity for the fashion influencers, designers, and brands to share creative ideas, updated news, views and opinions of other designers about the fashion world, and provides with a golden opportunity of sharing the information forward. 
2. The online path of media leads to building communities of like-minded consumers online. 
3. It is the fastest source of giving fashion updates without any gatekeeping which means anyone can share the information forward without particular permission. This has brought transparency in the fashion world, as there is no limitation to getting featured. 
4. Online fashion media offers instant feedback from the readers and has the highest level of interaction with the users.

How Is Print Media Ineffective To Online Fashion Media?

[caption id="attachment_13030" align="alignnone" width="800"] Magezine[/caption]
Since the invention of portable type media and internet, the print media has lost its grace. The rise of the internet highlighted the disadvantages of the print medium, the following are some of the major disadvantages-

1. Printed fashion media can't be as happening as online media, as it cannot capture the display of designs and movement required by an audience raised on the video of the internet. 
2. The print medium of fashion involves printing and pressing, fashion information requires a lead time before it ever reaches you.  
3. The printed medium of information is being avoided by people today, as it requires paper and chemical, which further leads to cutting down of trees. After you’re done reading fashion magazines and newspapers, you're left with material that you need to throw away and this later accumulates in our landfills.
4. Fashion magazines and newspapers are limited, can only reach the audience when it is distributed through an organized channel. 

In The World Of Social Media, Do Some People Still Prefer Magazines Rather Than Online Reading? 

[caption id="attachment_13043" align="alignnone" width="800"] Social Media[/caption]
Fashion journalism has been around since the turn of the 20th century, online fashion media has expanded its range of influence by giving the audiences an up-close, personal view of the fashion world. Now the fashion weeks are accessible to a worldwide audience through ongoing postings on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and other online fashion magazines like-
-NY Times T Magazine
-Vogue
-Net-a-Porter Notes
-Ponystep
-BBC Thread
According to a speculated data number of internet users in India by 2019 was 525.3 million and it's expected to grow every year. But there are some people who still prefer to read magazines and newspapers instead of e-books, according to them it offers the latest news on matters to do with dressing or the latest fashion trends in the fashion world.
Fashion magazines along with other print medium are competing against the internet, and thriving to build an effective presence among consumers.

How Is E-Paper Effectuating The Fashion Industry? 

[caption id="attachment_13044" align="alignnone" width="800"] E-Paper[/caption]
News is something addictive for people today, and the young generation looks forward to keeping themselves updated with what’s in vogue, the collection launches, and latest fashion trends. Technology and internet connection has changed the dynamics of the fashion industry, Indian news applications like The Hindustan Times, Newsstand, FirstPost news have played an essential role. They made it easier for the fashion world to connect, sitting at one place you could read about the latest news and get close to a fashion influencer from around the world. It doesn’t charge, unlike buying newspapers and magazines which can cost.

How Has COVID-19 Impacted The Sales Of Print Media? 

[caption id="attachment_13041" align="alignnone" width="800"] COVID-19 Impact on Sales Of Print Media[/caption]
The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused a downfall in newspaper sales, but as the country continues its battle against coronavirus pandemic, it's important to know the credible information. The World Health Organisation has categorically rejected the rumour spreading via social media that newspapers can act as carriers of COVID-19. But the increased fear among consumers has let them withdraw their newspaper services for some time which has further caused the print media downfall.
If you want to know how Indian fashion and technology dealing with COVID-19 click on the link- https://bit.ly/3b6LM9U

What Is The Future Of Online Fashion Media? 

[caption id="attachment_13039" align="alignnone" width="800"] Online media[/caption]
There are no barriers to online fashion media, it's full of fashion industry information and the trends to look forward to. It's already overwhelming for most people and will continue to do so in the future. In the last 10-15 years, it has witnessed older people mostly use traditional media while millennials mostly use digital media. Now if we talk about the future, all these young users will become the majority of media consumers. It's believed that there won't be any agency that is not digital in the future. Technology and the internet have led the fashion houses and designers, enabled us to consume a different kind of content and more importantly, to create content. It's estimated that by 2023, the digital revenues will account for over 60% of total revenue in the media and entertainment industry.

What Is The Future Of Print Media?

[caption id="attachment_13048" align="alignnone" width="512"] what is the future of print medium of fashion[/caption]

IKF Desk (Conclusion) 

We have moved from landlines to mobiles, the medium of fashion print is going through the same churn, the fashion print media has to invest in upskilling and reskilling the talent, it also has to become a part of the digital ecosystem to compete with online fashion media.
[caption id="attachment_13034" align="alignnone" width="800"] Print Media[/caption]
Do you think the tradition fashion magazines will ever disappear?
I Knock Fashion would love to know your opinion, is the comment section, and do let us know your views about it

Source: https://www.iknockfashion.com/will-online-fashion-media-be-the-end-of-print-media/