OHLALA DOES GLT MAGAZINE!

GLT magazine aka Gay and Lesbian Times in the U.S has a really cool feature on your favorite French boys ... us that is ;-) 

Interview by Jorge Treviano: 

"Men’s fashion used to be dictated by glossy magazine books like GQ, Details and Esquire. The Internet has leveled the playing field. Is that a surprise? It shouldn’t be. In a world where a kid with a video camera has access to as large an audience as the biggest Hollywood star, a mom with a blog can attract more readers than a best-selling author, and an opinionated entrepreneur can become a guru to millions, of course the next Miranda Priestley (reference to Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada, for those not up on today’s chick flicks) would hail from cyberspace. About the only person who might be surprised is Vogue editor Anna Wintour (of whom Streep’s character in TDWP was based). Her recent launch of Men’s Vogue is so 1990 and, as a result, it is struggling to find an audience.

Work and life partners Alek Tomovic and Steph Marquet, popularly known as the OhLaLa boys, have become the new gurus of fashion. Their style blog, OhLaLamag.com, boasts two million readers each month – more than GQ and Esquire combined – and six times larger than Men’s Vogue."

Read more after the jump...

What started as a fashion journal where Ohlalamag.com reported on trends being featured in the glossy magazines has grown into an empire where OhLaLa now introduces trends before they even appear in the glossies. Tomovic and Marquet say their readers crave the immediacy that the Web offers. “It used to be that fashion changed by the season,” explained Tomovic from his home in Los Angeles. 

“Today, fashion shifts by the day. People who follow the trends want to know the minute change happens.” Tomovic likens the phenomenon to world news and entertainment gossip industries. Perezhilton.com now dominates People Magazine. The Drudge Report has a larger readership than Time Magazine. “In today’s information age, you need to be the first to introduce new information if you want to compete. 

Unfortunately, paper press is not equipped to deliver information quickly and so they are going the way of the pony express.” While most fashion books are downsizing, the OhLaLa empire is expanding. OhLaLamag has developed six niche blogs including Bellomag.com, for the man who doesn’t crave the latest fads, but instead creates his own fashion code. In order to obtain information at the lightning speed readers demand, Tomovic and Marquet rely on industry insiders like stylists, designers, and fashion photographers who feed their news and photos to them. It’s a symbiotic relationship, explains Marquet. “We offer their news and images to our readers and, in return, they and their information get international exposure.” 

“You can’t argue OhLaLamag’s numbers,” affirmed fashion photographer Bruno Rand from his Manhattan studio last week. Rand’s photos regularly appear on the blog. “Being published on OhLaLaMag.com means instant, world-wide recognition.” Troy Phillips, who has shot recent covers for Exercise for Men Magazine and DNA Magazine, agrees. He credits OhLaLamag.com with helping to put his photography on the international map and says appearing on the blog has led to paid assignments. “I was commissioned by several publications after my images first featured on OhLaLamag.com.” Rand, too, acknowledges his phone rings more whenever his images appear on OhLaLamag. It’s not only competing editors that are finding talent on OhLaLamag. 

Eric Schwers, president of baskit, a leading men’s underwear and swimwear brand, regularly hires photographers featured on the blog – including Bruno Rand. It’s not only because they are the best photographers in the industry; but what they can offer his brand. “All of the major underwear and swimwear labels are fighting to be featured on OhLaLamag,” he admits. “Hiring an OhLaLa photographer gives your brand an extra advantage of being featured on the blog.” “Of course, the advantage comes at a price,” he adds. A significant price. Once a photographer is established as an OhLaLa photographer, he or she can demand higher prices for campaign shoots – reportedly as much as double the rates they were able to charge before being featured on the blog. 

The photographers, however, insist it is not the money that has them battling to get their photos posted on OhLaLamag. “There’s a sense of accomplishment appearing on OhLaLa,” says Rand. “It’s an honor to be recognized by Alek and Steph.” Troy Phillips echoes Rand’s sentiments. “Alek and Steph receive countless requests daily from photographers hoping to have their images posted on the blog. If my photos make it, something in the images must have touched them. It’s a stamp of approval; that’s the real reward.” Therein may lie the greatest secret to OhLaLamag’s success. 

Editors Alek and Steph do not play the diva role made infamous by their predecessors. Instead of being feared by the industry they report on, the OhLaLa boys gain their respect by admiration. “The biggest advice we could give to anyone in business and in life is not to follow the pack,” says Marquet. OhLaLa certainly has not. Just because the devil is wearing Prada doesn’t mean Alek and Steph are. Sure, they admit they like Prada – especially their sunglasses. When it comes to threads, however, these angels prefer Armani.

Comments

[Ed]

Congrats on this achievement! You two deserve it.

[tOkKa]

-->> AWE - SOME !!

>v<