Vice and Vogue Announce Project Vs

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Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Anna Wintour and chief commercial and creative officer of Vice announced a new collaboration between their two publications titled Project Vs.

Tyler Crews, Deputy Sports Editor

Global media company Vice is pushing forward into the fashion industry full speed, and we don’t see it stopping anytime soon. Recently, Vice announced its partnership with Vogue to generate a new online platform for cultural content called ‘Project Vs,’ which will launch in early 2018.

This venture is not out of character for the media company and comes after a variety of fashion-based partnerships and shareholdings. Although Vice, known for its gritty and honest approach toward educating millennials, has not been a formidable presence in the fashion industry, it now uses contemporary methods of productions and distribution in an attempt to spearhead the communication of fashion-based content to a youthful audience.

Vogue and Vice appear to come from different planets. While Vogue has a sense of luxury and sophistication, Vice seems more juvenile and unrefined. However, Vogue’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, recognizes these differences and said, “Vogue and [Vice] may appear to some to see the world through different lenses, but, in my view, both are fearless and breathtaking, with unquenchable curiosity and vigor. This collaboration will benefit from two talented editorial teams working together to produce relevant and exciting stories about the way we live now.”

Vice Media first dipped its toes into the fashion world when it purchased i-D, a British magazine centered around fashion and entertainment, in 2012. From there, Vice continued to expand its reach in fashion, acquiring a majority stake in Starworks Group, a fashion and beauty brand development agency that is known for its work with major brands, including Ivy Park, Calvin Klein, Guess, Chanel and L’Oreal. Vice also bought edgy fashion magazine Garage, in accordance with Vice’s grungy image.

Vice’s interest in the fashion world is not unreasonable. Fashion and media have always worked hand in hand; Vice is simply taking its own approach to this collaboration of spheres, which is catering to the youth. Andrew Creighton, co-president of Vice, said, “The fashion industry contains incredible creativity, but in many ways is stuck in the past.” Millennials, Vice’s main readers, are now entering a time in their lives where they are able to make their own smart purchases, which generates endless possibilities for major fashion brands and magazines. Vice wants to help these companies restructure their somewhat antiquated approach to marketing so that they can understand and communicate in the language of today’s youth.

While Vice’s interest in fashion content and platforms is unusual on the surface, these partnerships are mutually beneficial due to the overlap of fashion and media, as well as Vice’s uniquely raw approach to content presentation. Besides, if Anna Wintour says it makes sense, then it has to make sense.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Oct. 30 print edition. Email Tyler Crews at [email protected].