Judges To Include Handbag Designer Anya Hindmarch, Former Barneys Co-CEO Gene Pressman and Others
NEW YORK, April 24 — Will the next “It Bag” be designed by You? Marie Claire and Glam Media (Glam.com) today announced the launch of Be Discovered: Design a Handbag Competition. Starting today, aspiring designers can submit their handbag sketches on Glam.com, where the fashion community will vote for their favorites while watching the competition unfold online. The winner will receive a trip to New York, a one-night stay at a posh New York hotel, and will be a Marie Claire “accessories editor for a day.”
Throughout the competition, video interviews with aspiring designers, sketches of the bags and footage of the handbag design process will be available on GlamSpace on Glam.com. After online voting determines the eight finalists, a panel of fashion industry experts will select the winning design on June 11, 2007. Judges will include Joanna Coles, editor in chief of Marie Claire; Samir Arora, CEO of Glam Media; Anya Hindmarch, handbag designer; Gene Pressman, former co-CEO of Barneys whose new book “Chasing Cool,” will be released in May; Jill Swid, fashion director of Glam.com; Bonnie Pressman, president of Theory Accessories; and fashion publicist Paul Wilmot. The eight final bags will be auctioned off on eBay for charity.
“Marie Claire readers love their handbags, and we’re excited about giving them an opportunity to vote in a unique competition like this,” said Joanna Coles, editor in chief of Marie Claire. “Working with Glam Media is the ideal way to reach our passionate audience in an interactive way.”
The competition will be featured in the June issue of Marie Claire as well as on marieclaire.com. Glam Media, a lifestyle and fashion Web hub with 10 million unique visitors per month, works with content providers, publishers, and brand advertisers to create the ultimate digital entertainment experience including programs like the Be Discovered: Design a Handbag Competition.
“We are thrilled to partner with Marie Claire in the search for the next hot handbag designer,” said Samir Arora, chairman and CEO of Glam Media. “Bringing high-quality and participatory entertainment like the Be Discovered: Design a Handbag Competition to our engaged audience is what Glam Media is all about.” A full list of competition details, rules and regulations is available at http://www.glam.com/bediscovered and marieclaire.com. About Marie Claire
Marie Claire is more than a pretty face. It is the fashion magazine with character, substance, and depth, for women with a point of view, an opinion, and a sense of humor. Each issue is edited for a sexy, stylish, confident woman who is never afraid to make intelligence a part of her wardrobe. Marie Claire is published in 26 countries and is read by more than 15 million worldwide. The magazine was founded in 1937 by French industrialist Jean Prouvost, whose goal was to present the realities of life mixed with fashion and beauty coverage. The American edition is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst Corporation (http://www.hearst.com) and one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines, with a total of 19 U.S. titles and nearly 200 international editions. Hearst reaches more adults than any other publisher of monthly magazines (73.4 million according to MRI, fall 2006). The company also publishes 20 magazines in the United Kingdom through its wholly owned subsidiary, The National Magazine Company Limited.
About Glam Media
With 10 million U.S. and more than 15 million global unique visitors a month, Glam Media is one of the fastest-growing fashion and lifestyle Web property and ranks second in Top 10 Women’s Web properties, as measured by comScore Media Metrix. Glam Media allows people to easily browse content on its flagship website, Glam.com, by fashion, beauty, and lifestyle channels and through the Glam Publishers Network of more than 300 magazines, websites, and blogs. Glam Media is backed by blue-chip venture-capital firms leading the new media wave: Accel Partners (Facebook, BrightCove), DAG Ventures (Friendster, Plaxo), Draper Fisher Jurvetson (Skype: eBay, Technorati), Walden Venture Capital, and Information Capital (Tickle/eMode: Monster, NetObjects).
SOURCE Glam Media; Marie Claire
