Further evidence of the strength of luxury advertising in an otherwise slumping ad market, Departures this month is launching Home + Design, a one-off issue that will be delivered to half a million subscribers—otherwise known as American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders—with their Culture Issue.
Departures editor in chief Richard Story said tthe magazine’s existing readers have been known to “devour” high-end interior design content, which makes sense given the fact that 66 percent of those readers own multiple homes. “It seemed like a natural extension of the Departures brand,” said Story.
Departures senior editor Jason Chen took the lead on the issue. Contributors included New York design editor Wendy Goodman, event planner David Monn, and Martine and Prosper Assouline of the eponymous book publishing house (they’re also the issue’s guest editors, and their Paris apartment is the subject of a feature).
Story sought to present a global, varied view of design, so the issue includes everything from city guides (Tokyo, Stockholm, Paris) and lessons on design movements (Organic Minimalism, Neo-Baroque) to features about an Iranian-inspired garden in Los Angeles and an historic midcentury house in Honolulu. “We wanted to do something that was very revealing, interesting, and different from other shelters,” said Story. “It wasn’t going to be all fauteuil, faux-Egyptian; I wanted to challenge the eye.”
The issue contains 40 ad pages, 29 of which are from brands new to the Departures brand, including Brunschwig & Fils, Ralph Lauren Home and Sub-Zero.
Home + Design will arrive polybagged with the bimonthly Departures starting April 26, and if it proves as popular as its editors hope, Story told Adweek, expect to see a second issue on the horizon.
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