New fashion tabloid Rag set to challenge glossy fashion bibles

by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 25-Nov-05, 11:00

LONDON - A new fashion tabloid called Rag is set to launch with the promise of being the antithesis of the current wave of expensive bi-annual magazines where style triumphs over content.

Taking the format of a red-top tabloid and printed on newsprint, Rag will cover the fashion industry in a less reverent way, and is designed to be read rather than looked at.

The freesheet newspaper will launch during London Fashion Week in February next year. With a print run of 10,000, it will be distributed at fashion shows, bars and shops in London, with distribution also being planned for Paris, New York and Milan.

Rag will also be included in the goodie bags given away to VIP guests at certain fashion shows during London Fashion Week.

The title has been created and will be edited by Kay Barron, who has worked for the Face, Vogue and The Times, and is a graduate of St Martins College of Art & Design.

Barron is on a mission to restore credibility to fashion journalism, which she says is now mainly rehashed press releases.

"The journalism will be quick and to the point, with humour and honesty. I think the days are gone where people want to read five pages about a single fashion designer," Barron said.

She said the newspaper would be as "throwaway as fashion is".

Joining the editorial team will be Frank Strachan, who has worked as a stylist and costume designer to Kylie Minogue and the Pet Shop Boys, as well as working for titles such as GQ and Loaded. Contributions will come from established fashion writers as well as journalists who are better known for their writing on other subjects.

The title is set to debut to coincide with London Fashion Week in February 2006 and September, with plans for a website to be updated more regularly.

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