Some Things Change, Some Stay the Same for Details
The relaunch this week of Details magazine is more like the launch of a start-up publication.
With new editor in chief Daniel Peres, 28, at the helm, the staff has changed, the layout has changed, and even the quality of paper the magazine is printed on has changed. The name is the only holdover from the men’s magazine that shut down in March to find itself--and more readers.
“This was five months of starting from scratch,” said Peres.
Peres’ first issue is even called “the first issue.” It has Robert Downey Jr. on the cover and includes an exclusive interview with the actor about his time in prison and his efforts to get his life back on track.
Unlike Maxim, the hugely successful men’s magazine that entices readers with scantily clad women, notable men will be featured on all future covers of Details.
When Conde Nast pulled the plug on Details and handed it over to Fairchild Publications, another division of parent company Advance Publications, Details was expected to reemerge as a glossy men’s fashion magazine. Fairchild also publishes Women’s Wear Daily, W and Jane.
However, when the editorial team led by chairman and editorial director Patrick McCarthy began developing “the vision” of the magazine, it became clear that Details would need to cover other things that interest 25- to 35-year-old men, said Peres. “Because of Fairchild, it was assumed it would be a magazine about men’s fashion, but it’s just too much if we are cover-to-cover fashion.”
The current issue includes an investigative story on the mysterious death of Herbalife founder Mark Hughes, an interview with Hunter S. Thompson, a story on a possible human mission to Mars and a preview of the sports club of the future. And though the magazine is steering away from its former flashy image, there is what Peres calls the “standard babe story” on Lucy Liu.
But Details’ Fairchild cousins W and Jane have influenced the fashion coverage and the quality of the fashion photography. The debut style spreads range from an artistic photo shoot featuring actor Joseph Fiennes in Palermo, Italy, to a feature on what Seattle’s high-tech workers wear when they’re not glued to their PCs.
“Hopefully, and I’m fairly confident it does, this will fill this void in the men’s magazine market,” said Peres. “Right now, there is the beer-guzzling, frat house, bathroom humor ‘Lad Mags,’ and the magazines that have been around forever that have a good brand name but appeal to my dad.”
Details is targeted to a sophisticated younger man, and one who is interested in cooking and architecture--a reader just like Peres. In fact, it is Peres’ relatively young age that may be the key to the magazine’s success.
“Because I’m the demographic, I possess the sensibility of what works for our reader.”
Peres, who studied journalism and American history at New York University, formerly worked as the European editor of W magazine.
McCarthy and Peres were given the option to change the name of the magazine, but they decided to keep it despite the sagging sales of its predecessor. While the identity of the magazine has changed, the Details name still offers brand recognition, which should help set it apart when pitted against the dozens of new titles on the newsstands, Peres explained.
The name did help attract big names like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Mercedes-Benz to fill 133 pages of advertising for the debut issue.
