Things Get Ugly for Fashion Mags

Check out "Massive Outlay of Ads No Longer in Vogue: Conde Nast Title, Others Sport Leaner Fall Looks as Marketings Hold Back." Aside from the usual clever WSJ headline & subhead, the article is interesting in looking at two things:

• Luxury advertisers are still doing well, and able to spend.
• Fashion books, which had been immune until now, are showing you can be -- at least from an advertising side -- to thin. W magazine (not related to the president) lost 17.67% of its ad pages.

Meanwhile, everyone in the fashion mag sector is expecting a tough 2009. As far as I can tell, red is not the new black. Bet we'll see mid-tier retailers and mid-tier magazines folding over the next few months.