Radical Vertical

Que será,
será
@IsabelitaVirtual on the rise of the
digital world and the extinction of
the printed matter
The future’s not
ours to see
In a world where influencers have become the new
trendsetters, the question of where fashion publications
stand in terms of relevance and potential for commerce
is more important than ever to marketers and publishers
alike. The question is no longer if and when luxury brands
should embrace the digital opportunity, but how they
should go about doing it.
@IsabelitaVirtual aka Isabel Martinez is a young
Spanish creative whose universe has enchanted the world
of social networks. Born and raised in Barcelona, Isabel
is an award-winning creative director and photographer
who has collaborated with brands such as Dior, Hermès,
Kenzo, Tiffany & Co, Coach, & Other Stories, Sony, Viktor
& Rolf, Boucheron, Delpozo, and The Moscow Ballet. Her
popularity on Instagram has grown exponentially with over
680 thousand followers. The co-founder of Instagram,
Kevin Systrom, named her one of his 3 favorite fashion
accounts in an interview with i-D Magazine.
In 2018, the @IsabelitaVirtual Instagram
Gallery was honored by the Webby Awards
(hailed as “the internet’s highest honor” by The
New York Times) in the category of Best Social Content
in Art & Culture alongside powerhouse cultural
institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
the Guggenheim, and LACMA.
Martinez, who has to-date not posted a single
selfie, recently called for 12 different artists—who follow
her on Instagram and whom she believes connect with
her artistic vision on some level—to create portraits of
her based solely on the images on her Instagram account,
without knowing anything about her physical self.
Since Isabel Martinez also has numerous
collaborations with famous magazines, W magazine
amongst them, we were keen for some words of advice
on how to avoid the extinction of iconic print titles. Recent
examples include the legendary Interview magazine
which closed down just 6 months ago; Village Voice, the
independent weekly New York City newspaper which will
cease to be in print; and even Teen Vogue. Condé Nast—
owner of Teen Vogue, with a reported loss of about $120
million in 2017—will also end its print publication, with plans
to sell three of its titles: Brides, Golf Digest, and W, based
on a recommendation by the Boston Consulting Group.
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QUE SERÁ, SERÁ