Skip to Content

magazines

Quest Magazine, for the NYC Social and Real Estate Scene

Filed under: Services

If you are -- or long to be -- part of the NYC social and moneyed scene, Quest is a must-read. Distributed around NYC, seemingly for free (though it has a $5 cover price), this sometimes snooty publication tracks the party scene with pages of pages of photos of dressed-up socialites and tuxedoed men, snapped by editor David Patrick Columbia at fetes and charity events. The magazine occasionally has a feature of some depth but mainly has light articles. For Luxist readers who love our "Estate of the Day" feature, Quest's Web site is great -- it is in magazine format and includes ads. That means you can scan ads featuring home listings in NYC, Connecticut, the Hamptons and so on, plus see ads for high-end jewelry, handbags, clothing, shoes, art galleries, luxury home accessories and cultural events. Click once on the page you want to view to make it bigger. You also can subscribe (tab at top of home page) if you want the hard copy ($36/one year/12 issues or $47.97/two years/24 issues).

Visionaire's $150,000 Magazine Collection

Filed under: Decor

The Wall Street Journal reported that Visionaire magazine -- a publication where design, marketing, style, trends and art intersect -- is charging $50,000 for a special Goyard trunk designed for its collectors. The handmade trunk will house the magazine's first 50 issues. This summer, Visionaire also will offer 10 complete sets of its first 50 issues in the Goyard trunks for $150,000. The customized steamer trunks, assembled by hand, will have shelves and insets designed for all 50 issues. Collectors also can buy an empty trunks for €34,500 ($54,000).

From its premiere issue in April 1991 (now up to 54 issues, with each issue typically priced between $150 - $350), Visionaire "challenged notions of what it meant to be an art and fashion publication and was conceived of as a venue for artists such as Mario Testino and Steven Meisel to publish personal work," WSJ stated. It has morphed into something more like a design challenge for its many contributors.

Each issue (which can take between nine months and three years to complete) is typically a mixed-media riff on a theme, posing an ongoing set of challenges to a small crew of designers. For example, White began with the question: How do you publish without using ink? Answer: a combination of Braille, embossing, varnish and paper-cut illustrations. Scent came with perfume capsules, Taste had specially-designed flavor-strips and Sound featured a Mini Cooper toy car that played record albums.

"Dizzy Diamond Heiress" Dances at Snob Mag Soirée

This whole magazines for snobs thing has been much on our minds lately, and yet in all the excitement we seem to have overlooked a major contender in the category: Social Life, a self-described "luxury lifestyle and fashion" periodical based in New York. Social Life came to our attention as we were browsing the week's party photos taken by our friend Patrick McMullan.

It seems the magazine threw itself a party the other night at members only club Soho House to celebrate its latest issue. The event was attended by Anabel Vartanian, dubbed the "Dizzy Diamond Heiress" by the New York Observer; attention-loving Internet celebrity Emily Brill; and someone with the implausible moniker "Princess Charlotte de Broglie" - basically exactly the crowd one would expect at a soirée for something called Social Life.

Intrigued, we looked up the magazine's website, where we came across the following emetic mission statement: "Our readers turn to Social Life to see photos of themselves, their friends, and their families - we feature pictures of exclusive charity events, elegant dinner parties, the exuberance of Polo [sic] and the hottest nights at high-end clubs."

In other words: "We write about People Like Us." Or, more accurately perhaps, "What people who are more like us than they think think People Like Us are like."

More Magazines for Snobs

On Thursday we told you about the Russian tycoon who's planning to launch a new $150 million magazine for snobs, inventively titled Snob, for "people who are successful and those who want to be successful." We included a photo gallery of some of the titles such as Quest already languishing on newsstands that seem to fulfill that bold mission.

As it turns out, our Russian friend is entering a fairly crowded field. Following some suggestions we received, we now present a further assortment of Snob rags for your viewing pleasure.

Warning: subscribing to the full collection of all ten may result in you're being charged under some sort of arcane sumptuary law. Or it should, anyway.

Russian Tycoon to Launch Magazine for Snobs



Russian precious metals mogul Mikhail Prokhorov, ranked as the 24th richest man in the world with a $22 billion fortune, is set to launch a magazine called Snob for his fellow plutocrats. Prokhorov plans to invest $150 million in the venture, which will eventually include a website and TV station as well, Reuters reports. Andrei Shmarov, who's helming the project, says the magazine will be for "people who are successful and those who want to be successful."

Shmarov is at pains to point out that in Russia, "snob" isn't a pejorative term. "Snob to us means a person who is a 'self-made man', a person who has gained a right to snobbishness," he explains. "It's not pleasant to boast about your wealth when you have inherited it but when you have made it yourself, well it is still not very nice, but it is justified." At least in a country where a measly billion dollars won't even land you a spot on the rich list. Check out their competition below.

House & Garden Folds, Are Other Shelter Mags In Trouble?

A moment of silence for a grand old magazine. Condé Nast has announced that House & Garden magazine is shutting down after 106 years. The magazine will cease publication with its December 2007 issue. The move came after the publisher recently left. Condé Nast is still going strong with Architectural Digest and with Domino and the new Vogue Living. Fashion Week Daily brings up the fact that in 2004 when Condé Nast bought and then folded YM they converted the subscribers into Teen Vogue readers and that a similar thing may take place here.

Certainly over the past few years, House & Garden hasn't seemed quite as luxurious as it once did. Without the boozy reminiscences of one Jay McInerney, there really isn't that much in the magazine that can't be found elsewhere, especially in Arch Digest, which with the heavier and glossier paper and more lavish photography makes it more of a magazine set for taking up residence on the coffee table (and which was the magazine that did H&G in for the first time when it folded in 1993 after Condé Nast acquired AD). Also in terms of the two magazines websites, Arch Digest is the far more streamlined and contains more eyecandy images and video.

My question is whether or not the traditional "shelter" magazines in general are in trouble. There are several key indicators that could indicate that this is the case. The first would be the unsteady real estate market and the fact that many people are cutting back on renovating or remodeling their homes because they are not certain that they will receive a return on their investment when the sell. Also younger home owners are more and more accustomed to getting their home information and inspiration on the web where a variety of sites offer not just images of homes but the chance to immediately purchase the things you see and to submit your own pictures and receive feedback and help. Also as more and more people think about sustainable living and greening of their homes they might be inclined to turn toward Dwell. What shelter/lifestyle magazines do you read and do you think this is just an isolated case of Condé Nast trimming the fat or a more endemic problem effecting the entire industry?

Robb Report Vertical Living

Filed under: Decor

Besides accessories, I am addict for magazines. The hubby and I have magazines dating back to 2002. Some may say that we are a bit obsessive over magazines but I describe us as collectors of fine publications. Ok, well maybe that might be stretching it, but it's a love for writing and discovering new things that keeps us going. I was in the neighborhood bookstore and came across Robb Report's newest venture - Vertical Living. A magazine that will satisfy your taste and curiosity for high rise and high luxury living. Vertical Living will cover "amazing architecture to ultra-pampering concierge services to spectacular design, interiors, technology and real estate on the market." The photography is breathtaking and the articles are informative. A magazine worth checking out.

Limited Edition Anniversary Items from Colette

The funky French boutique Colette, a bastion of style and, usually, limited edition items from top-notch designers, is celebrating their 10th anniversary this year and has called on some of those partners to produce a number of very exclusive items just for them. One of these is called "10 Magazines by Colette." The set includes 10 pages and the cover of each of the following magazines, each of which has played a part in Colette history: Big, Dazed & Confused, Fantastic Man, Huge, i-D, Paradis, Permanent Food, Purple Fashion, Self Service, and V. The pages will be chosen by the editors of each publication and bound together. There is no price yet, but 10 Magazines will be coming to Colette in March.

Spear's Wealth Management Survey, A New Magazine For The Ultra-Rich

Wonder what Roman Abramovich is reading? Like a few other wealthy people, including JK Rowling he might just be curling up with Spear's Wealth Management Survey, a new magazine aimed at the ultra-wealthy. The U.K.-based magazine is sent by invitation-only to those with assets over£5m. According to anarticle in the Observer, the magazine is sent to a list of about 2,000 people. Spear's Wealth Management focuses on the needs of the superrich including hedge funds, Swiss banks, crisis management, bulletproof cars and above all, staying rich.

Featured Galleries

A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Striking Time Watch
Amanyara, Turks & Caicos
Pilates in Heels: The Experiment
Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon Technique Platinum Watch
Bulgari Serpenti Watches
'Silver Zwei' Superyacht
'TV' Megayacht Charter
Villa Volpi
Volvo S60 Style