The ironic demise of a glossy that helped the rise of Fashion Influencers
Do you remember Lucky Magazine?
I do because it was my absolute favorite. It was a publication that pioneered an influential and relatable aspect of fashion. And ironically, its innovation became its eventual demise. In my glowing tribute to this magazine, I explained why.
Before Instagram, there was LUCKY MAGAZINE.
Nearly two decades ago, before the launch of Instagram in October 2010, Condé Nast publications launched LUCKY magazine. At the helm was the founder and editor-in-chief, Kim France. Her task was arduous — to offer a distinguishing fashion platform whose sole focus was on style and shopping.
Fashion circles and the media initially criticized LUCKY magazine. What kind of a glossy would cover editorial stories on designers, brands, and retail shops? Wouldn’t this be just a savvy way of advertising, disguised as a fashion publication? Who would pander to a sales catalog-style of a magazine?
Interestingly, the critics were wrong because fashion readers and enthusiasts had a different response. They embraced the idea of LUCKY. In fact, in just a few years the magazine grew its subscription base to over a million and became one of Condé Nast’s most profitable publications.
Their secret sauce to fame.
What was in LUCKY magazine’s secret sauce that catapulted them to be in the same league as the other more established fashion magazines?
While all fashion publications generally showcased editorials, LUCKY had a unique and innovative approach to creating content on trends and shopping. Their main focus was on personal style, specifically how to show a variety of it. And the word ‘style’ itself could be intimidating. But with LUCKY, they democratized it by encouraging the use of fashion in a pragmatic and prudent way.
Their purpose was to give the readers exposure to the different ways on how ‘normal’ people styled themselves in their daily lives. To do this, they placed prominence on contemporary and affordable fashion, and none higher than the mid-luxury range. And the ones who shared their style ideas were relatable women who were either a student, an assistant, or someone who would be a budding entrepreneur.
LUCKY also published stories that encouraged personal creations from the masses instead of celebrity-driven styles. And as a result, the perusal in their pages was not intimidating. Instead, it gave a friendly, functional, yet still very creative experience. One would even recall the innovative use of ‘page stickers’ which carried an advertiser’s name. It was brilliant marketing! Instead of dog-eared pages, they made it easy by creating a means to remember an item.
Cover Girls are up-and-coming celebrities.
Photo: Conde Nast Lucky Magazine archives.
The under-the-radar cover girls.
While top-tier publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and InStyle often featured A-list celebrities such as Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, and others who usually garner either an acting award win or nomination, LUCKY Magazine placed up-and-coming actresses on their covers. We saw Jessica Alba, Amanda Siegfried, Rachel Bilson, Kate Bosworth, Keri Russel, Jennifer Hudson, Lupita Nyong, Leighton Meester, and the like.
And the outfits and accessories the cover girls donned were in the two or three-digit price range and rarely higher. A perfect example was the yellow silk chiffon cocktail dress on Elizabeth Banks’ cover. This was priced around $150. For an actress and a celebrity to wear this outfit at an affordable price, the readers were able to easily relate to the attainability of this kind of style. It was the kind of reaction that one would not normally have when they see an outfit on the cover of a Vogue or Elle Magazine because these kinds of fashion glossies were more known to feature runway high-end designers' looks that command prices at least the four-digit price range.
When Editors were featured.
As for the inside pages, LUCKY was known to recognize the talent of their editors and interns by allowing them full-page editorials that emphasized their personal takes on trends. It was one of my favorite features in the magazine — seeing the people behind the scenes share their real-life perspective on fashion, coupling it with style advice.
When LUCKY Editors were featured. Photo: Conde Nast Lucky Magazine photo archives.
The feeling of seeing these editor selections was comparable to chatting with a friend over a cup of coffee and asking them what they think would look good when they put together a clothing ensemble. These featured pages of the editors allowed the readers to get to know these fashion mavens. They became like virtual girl pals who generously shared their chic choices for the month. By seeing this on a monthly basis, I started to make a list of my favorite LUCKY editors — Andrea Linnett, Anne Kwon Keene, intern Cat Marnell, Elise Loehnen, and Jean-Godfrey June. And I always looked forward to what recommendations and picks they have for the month!
The Street Style and Mix/Match Challenges.
But the editors’ take on style was only the cherry on top. A good portion of the stories LUCKY showcased was how people on the streets demonstrated their fashion confidence through their way of putting pieces together.
For example, there was a recurring challenge that appeared as full spreads. This was when LUCKY created an on-the-spot ‘street’ photoshoot with a rack full of clothes and asked random people and passersby if they would like to style up several outfits and show the many ways to wear them.
LUCKY featured mix/match challenges to encourage the creation of outfits using a small capsule collection. Photo: Conde Nast Lucky Magazine photo archives.
Similarly, there was a mix/match challenge of 30 or 90 days full of outfits. This was when twenty or so pieces of clothing, shoes, and accessories were combined in different ways to achieve a complete look. The task was to do this until a certain number of fashion selections were created.
The challenges were pure genius. This was exactly the fashion dilemma a regular person faced on the daily — looking at a closet full of choices and trying to figure out what to put together.
And if carefully considered, LUCKY actually encouraged its readers to create a small capsule wardrobe and to place greater emphasis on harboring a style. It was similar to the concept of ‘paper doll’ toys — the idea of garnering many different looks using a limited amount of clothing pieces.
Albeit a negative perception of fashion magazines could be on pandering the concept of closet hauls, LUCKY proved the exact opposite. The publication educated how to be stylish without the need for a closet full of garments.
Photo: Conde Nast Lucky Magazine photo archives.
A showcase of indie brands.
Independent and small designer labels often found it difficult to receive exposure from long-tenured and popular fashion magazines. However, they received their moment of publicity with LUCKY. The publication had a fondness for putting a spotlight on indie brands, unknown fashion labels, and the quintessentially small boutiques that carried various merchandise from under-the-radar designers.
I learned about Bauble Bar and Maya Brenner’s jewelry lines, Rafe NYC, Devi Kroell, and Hayden-Harnett’s handbags, as well as new fashion designers such as Bryan Reyes, Kimora Lee-Simmons, Ali Roo, and Sally Tseng.
Unique directory for small businesses.
I had not seen any fashion magazines that gave regular pages as a directory for small fashion businesses such as independent designers and small boutiques. But on its pages every month were guides of which stores to visit in cities all over America. It was refreshing to see a national publication give this kind of recognition.
And I witnessed how it made an impact. I remembered visiting a small shop in downtown Walnut Creek, California and I asked if they still carried the semi-precious jewelry that Lucky featured in their magazine the previous month. The store personnel pointed to a frame displayed prominently in a glass case. Inside was the Lucky Magazine feature. They proudly expressed how they received a ton more visitors than usual because of that tiny mention in the publication.
Photo: Conde Nast Lucky Magazine photo archives.
Affiliate Marketing emerged.
Online stores received a similar marketing boost from LUCKY. In fact, it was the magazine that popularized the use of affiliate links. In the early stages of the magazine, I saw a column called ‘Web Pages’ that listed several online retail shops. Through the years, this listing expanded to what would become the popular ‘Lucky Shops’. It was where readers could immediately find the product, fashion designer, or store mentioned in the articles they read.
Six years later, in 2006, we saw one of the biggest fashion affiliate link companies emerge — ShopStyle. Their service was similar to the concept of Lucky Shops. The only difference was they offered the ability for content creators to use their commissionable links.
The rise of Influencers.
Lucky founded LuckyFABB, also known as the Fashion and Beauty Bloggers conference. This was an innovative move to provide a platform for fashion creatives in either New York or Los Angeles and connect them with celebrities who dabbled in entrepreneurship (i.e. Drew Barrymore and her Flower Beauty, Jessica Alba and her Honest Company, Rachel Zoe and her namesake brand, etc.), fashion experts, consumer brands who wanted to tap into social marketing, and budding social media applications.
In these events, fashion bloggers were given an opportunity to think bigger than their blogs. Through new ideas and showcasing of online services from companies like, RewardStyle, FOHR Card, Covet Fashion, Pinterest, and the like, these creators were able to find many different ways to monetize their content. And they can do this by doing away with the middle-men, which means higher sales commissions from referral links. And it was a win-win for software companies too since they can onboard these small and medium ‘influencers’ into their network and bring their tribe of followers.
Lucky Magazine is the first print publication to feature and place Fashion and Beauty Bloggers on its cover. Photo: Conde Nast Lucky Magazine photo archives.
The demise of Lucky Magazine as Influencers rise.
It would then be ironic that Lucky Magazine’s demise after 15 years of operations would be because of the growing popularity of fashion bloggers and influencers, whom they gave resources, encouragement, and spotlight. Lucky Magazine pioneered how they placed a heavy emphasis on relating and communicating to their readers — by giving more emphasis on realistic day-to-night wearable style, focusing on indie designers and brands, and highlighting online retailers and small and independent businesses.
With every pun intended, one could say that fashion bloggers, influencers, and content creators just got ‘lucky’, while the magazine would run out of it. After all, why go to a print magazine when you could directly reach readers, show them how to style fashion, and earn from affiliate marketing?
By executing the same ideas, objectives, and reach that Lucky Magazine was doing, these new influential players could follow suit and take full advantage of the free tools offered by the internet — the likes of Instagram, YouTube, WordPress, Pinterest, and the like. And they have more than enough ways to monetize because of the growing commissionable marketing services that paid a higher percentage of referral monies. Advertisers and small businesses saw this benefit too. It was much more cost-effective to go straight to a fashion blogger and do product collaborations.
It would not be long before Lucky Magazine’s operations would cease. But its legacy will be known as a catalyst that would help pave the way for fashion influencers and content creators. If you happen to own any of the Lucky Magazines, do keep it. It was a piece of history that would eventually help define the era of Influencer Marketing.
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