Started by Gabriela Splendore and Mariana Lourenço, Stories Collective is an online platform showcasing the creative work of photographers, stylists, art directors, filmmakers, designers and models all over the world through the innovative approach of its founders. The two met in London during their MA’s in Fashion Media Production at London College of Fashion. Upon graduation, they decided to combine everything they knew about digital media and styling to create a global destination for fashion creatives, who today they commission to build exclusive visual narratives for their issues. We caught up with Lourenço, one part of team, to discuss their brainchild, independent publishing and fashion media in general.
Why did you decide to start your magazine, and what is your ultimate goal through Stories Collective?
Gabriela and I were full of ideas, but we were not able to explore when fully working for other clients as freelance stylists. This frustration lead us to create our own platform where we could be free to do our own thing. Our goal is to inspire people all over the world through beautiful stories.
What sets your publication apart from other digital fashion magazines? Is there a niche Stories Collective aspires to fill?
Stories Collective is all about beautiful stories and the people behind it, each issue is inspired by themes, and we commission and carefully curate the content. We also take the layout design of each story into great consideration, and this is one of the biggest differences from other digital magazines. We see art as a whole, be it fashion, graphic design, film, videos etc.
You choose a theme for each issue. Tell us about this decision, and what is your upcoming issue’s theme inspiration.
By choosing a theme we can explore different aspects of fashion. Each issue is completely different to the last, and that is really interesting for us. The inspiration for our themes comes from subjects that permeate our daily lives, from the mundane to the extraordinary. Our current theme is “Digital Connections” which is inspired by influencers, digital art, new media, and celebrates this new generation that has reshaped the fashion industry aesthetics and taken control of the traditional media.
What’s the typical process of putting together an issue like?
Every issue has a different creative process, but normally Gabriela and I already have some ideas in mind for the theme. We discuss them, and follow up with a visual inspiration board to create the mood of the issue. We then contact our contributors and start the commissioning process. We also start to going through the submissions we receive.
How can visual-centered publications that not provide trend reports and fashion news coverage stay relative?
Our content is created all over the world by professionals that are intrinsically connected to the industry, so through every collaboration, we are in a way a trend report website as well. We also have a blog where we post about new designers, sustainable fashion, interesting places, art and design. We also recently launched a new website which has a page for interviews with interesting artists and a section that works as a database of our contributors.
How do you feel about transitioning to print?
We would love to do it, there’s nothing like the smell of a new magazine! We are constantly exploring ways in which this could be possible financially.
How do you go about finding creatives to produce artwork for your issues? What qualities attract you the most?
We look all over the web and social media, but luckily many talented creatives come to us, which is amazing. There are so many talented new people out there; we love to experiment with new upcoming artists with fresh ideas.
How do/will you monetize your magazine? How easy is blending commerce and content, while making sure it resonates with your audience?
Stories Collective is quite independent but we do have a space for ads. We only advertise brands that we feel reflect our aesthetic and values.
With so many independent fashion magazines out there, what do you think the future holds for digital fashion publishing?
I believe that content is moving towards a niche territory. Nowadays everyone can create their own content so easily. We are all so connected; you just have to have a view and motivation to produce something and send a message to the world. I absolutely love this era we are living. People can be their own medium and that, in my opinion, is so powerful!
What is next for Stories Collective?
We just made some updates on the website to celebrate our second anniversary, so now we are working on this new content and checking how people react to it. Those new pages aim to feature the work of interesting artists and a database of creatives. We want to become a place where agencies and brands can search new talents.
www.storiescollective.com
Images © Storie Collective
