Africa's Fashion Mags Evolve Slowly and Not So

Helm Magazine Suspends Production, according to Ladybrille MagazineDolceTracker The NYTimes gives us a business editorial African Wealth and African Style at a Glamorous Juncture, with a focus on Africa’s new crop of fashion magazines: Arise, HauTe, Helm and True Love.

None of the publications have an online editorial presence and Helm ceased publication in mid-August 2009, according to Ladybrille Magazine. Helm’s Facebook page hasn’t been updated.

The economic challenges of launching fashion and glamour magazines in Africa must not disguise the reality that there is a significant luxury class on the Continent, especially in countries like Nigeria.

Typically, the top of the income pyramid is 5 to 10 percent of the population.

Several luxury retailers and stores in London, for example, already count Nigerians among their top five spenders, trailing only Chinese, Russians, Americans and Arabs from the Persian Gulf. And in Lagos, new boutiques like Temple Muse and Leila Fowler are catering to the elite locally by stocking both international and African designer labels. A

A fashion layout in True Love, one of several new African style magazines, which are trying to reach women in the region.