It's A Boy! Meet The Latest Porter 2011

(NEW YORK) LAtest Men trend to mature at a slower rate, and today's debut of Mr Porter, the masculine counterpart to luxury online retailer Net-a-Porter is no exception. With an editorial voice to rival the leading fashion books and the advantage of offering peruse-click-buy means of bagging the latest Balenciaga, Net-a-Porter has shaken up the designer shopping experience since its launch by Natalie Massenet in 2000. Massanet reinvented the e-commerce wheel once again in April 2009 with the launch of a delightfully discounted younger counterpart, The Outnet, helmed by Vogue PR and marketing alum Stephanie Phair. Over a decade later, the boys can now partake in their own elegant and exorbitant e-commerce adventures.

How will Mr Porter stack up to Net-a-Porter's impressive style stats, including three million unique visitors monthly and a roster of over 200 designer brands? The dapper endeavor is kicking off with 80 brands to start, with intentions to keep it fairly intimate so les hommes don’t get hung up on too many options. The site’s sharply designed service features make a lot of sense under the helm of Mr Porter editor in chief Jeremy Langmead, who decamped from British Esquire last September to take on the new position.

Following suit with stylish women’s affinity for coopting the best of menswear and softening it up around the edges, there’s plenty that the fairer sex will want to crib from Mr Porter. For example, The Essentials list could be just another staid rundown for the style illiterate man, but it’s well-written and punched up by cool photos—Dustin Hoffman in slimcut swim trunks in The Graduate, say, or a perfectly preppy Slim Aarons shot. Perhaps the most unisex offering of all is a feature called “The Knack (and How To Get It),” which literally sketches out the minutiae of properly shucking an oyster.

Now for a bit of family competition between the eldest and the youngest Porters! [note: Wallet-friendly and fabulous The Outnet may be, but it’s all about the deals for the middle child of the proverbial Porter clan, sans any “retorial”—retail editorial, of course!—in the mix]
Print Design Inspiration:Net-a-Porter: Lucky’s objective under the art direction (and raiding the closets) of the best fashion bibles globally
Mr Porter: A crisp, clean broadsheet newspaper for Esquire’s target audience, filled with GQ’s breadth of style coverage

Sample Editorial Headlines: Net-a-Porter: "25 Ways To Be A Modern Bride"
Mr Porter: "Supersize Bags: Why Sometimes Big Really Is Better"

Multimedia Prowess: Net-a-Porter: A separate tab for its Fashion TV videos, covering runway, trendlets and designer Q&A’s
Mr Porter: Videos are included in the mix on the homepage, but as instructional cues for getting it right instead of getting a peep at a favorite designer’s studio.
Overall Vibe: Net-a-Porter: Shopping in stilettos from the electronic pages of a fashion mag and being outfitted by the editors and stylists themselves.
Mr Porter: Shopping in your boxers with discretion, nods to (and photos of) the most dapper Dans throughout history, and chic CliffNotes-esque cheat sheets that Barneys or Bergdorf just can’t provide.
ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV

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