NEW YORK — Fairchild Fashion Media has acquired Fashion Networks International, best known for NowManifest, a curated blog portal with 1.2 million unique visitors a month that showcases some of the biggest names in the fashion blogosphere.
Gina Sanders, president and chief executive officer of FFM, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Christian Remröd and Fashion Networks International to Fairchild Fashion Media. This acquisition furthers our mission to deliver an insider perspective to the global fashion community, while offering exciting new functionality and meaningful scale.”
FNI was cofounded last year by Remröd and Elin Kling. Remröd will stay on, becoming managing director of NowManifest and Fairchild Fashion Media Business Development. He’ll also work with Fairchild’s existing leadership to incubate new digital concepts for current and new businesses.
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FNI’s bloggers include Anna Dello Russo, editor at large and creative consultant for Vogue Japan. Dello Russo recently made news for her partnership with H&M on a line of accessories, from bags to shoes to jewelry. She’s the first fashion editor to partner with H&M on a special project.
Bryan Grey Yambao, who goes by Bryanboy, is also part of the network. The Filipino fashion blogger, who also has more than 252,000 followers on Twitter, is rumored to become a judge on “America’s Next Top Model.” Meanwhile, Kling, who recently shot a Net-a-porter ad campaign with Patrick Demarchelier, is not only blogging but serves as design director of the clothing brand Nowhere and fashion director of her own magazine, Styleby, which she founded with Bonnier.
FNI includes Industrie Magazine’s blog, founded by Erik Torstensson and Jens Grede, of the Saturday Group. Industrie is published twice a year and distributed by Comag but Fairchild did not purchase the print title. Other blogs that are part of the collective include Rumi Neely’s Fashion Toast and Derek Blasberg’s Mr. Blasberg. His most recent post covered the many looks of Linda Evangelista heading to court.
“We are extremely excited to join Fairchild Fashion Media, both to expand NowManifest and to develop future tools and businesses,” said Remröd. “This acquisition validates our model of building a collective and relevant voice for a new generation of increasingly influential online fashion writers and their readers.”
FFM is the parent of Women’s Wear Daily, Style.com, Style.com/Print, Footwear News, Men’sWeek, Menswear, WWD Collections, Accessory and WWD Summits.