This Issue of ELLE Brought To You By Edit New York?

According to Fashion Week Daily, ELLE has partnered with Upper East Side boutique Edit New York to bring you spring’s must-haves, as determined by ELLE’S Joann Pailey and Kate Davidson Hudson (market director, senior accessories editor) and Edit’s Alissa Emerson and Valerie Feigen (fashion director, co-owner). From FWD:

“This program is unlike any other,” said Carol Smith, ELLE Group’s senior vice president and chief brand officer. “Because Edit shares ELLE’s belief in the art of the mix; it’s the perfect retail partner for us. Our readers will be able to interact with a print, online, and brick-and-mortar retail experience that truly brings the pages of the magazine to life. I think they’ll love it, because for the first time ever it allows you to see something you like in a new collection in the magazine and own it—not six or eight weeks later, but the very same day you spotted it.”

We have two questions:

1. Regarding “for the first time ever it allows you to see something you like in a new collection in the magazine and own it–not six or eight weeks later, but the very same day you spotted it.” How exactly is this revolutionary? Readers in Iowa will still have to wait six to eight weeks. Readers in Manhattan can still read where an item is from and go pick it up. We’re missing the leap.

2. How much editorial control is ELLE ultimately giving up to support this collaboration? Yes, the magazine and the boutique boast similar styles. But the shopping guide smells a little like an advertorial. Online publications like Lonny Magazine facilitate interactive shopping without cordoning off sections for specific retailers, so for ELLE, why now and why Edit? Is it something readers can overlook simply because the boutique and the mag share tastes? Or will such partnerships continue to control editorial space as interactive elements, especially for retail magazines, change and grow?