WHAT TO LOOK FOR: CLAD.COM

It’s all very hush hush at the moment, but at last weeks WWD Menswear Summit, Esquire’s David Granger boasted about the launch of their new men’s style and e-commerce site, CLAD.com.  JCPenney is the major muscle behind the financing but claims you’ll find a wider selection of brands available and their role is strictly financial.  We like the name of the site, but this major trend of blending editorial with sales is troubling.  The ballyhoo and big roll outs of sites like Gilt Man, Mr. Porter and now Clad have created an environment that editorial purists have successfully avoided for the past century.  Editors recoil at the thought of ‘selling out’ or placing products in their magazines because of the huge amount of ad pages coming in from said advertiser.

The only lesson to learn from this evolution, is that where there is money, the magazines are sure to follow.  Mr. Granger so conveniently labels this move as part of “becoming a 21st Century medium.”