Media and legal news pundit Dan Abrams is expanding his Mediaite, mini-empire today with the launch of fashion news site Styleite. Abrams announced late last year that he has a definitive plan for expanding to other verticals, and most recently launched tech and geek culture site Geekosystem. Styleite is the Mediaite family’s venture into fashion journalism, with a little edge and pop culture stirred in. The site covers the news of what’s taking place in the industry and focuses on a blend of analysis and breaking news.
Stories range from Amy Winehouse’s new designs to Yves Saint Laurent’s latest exhibition to Lady Gaga’s best fashion moments in her latest music video. The site also features a fashion industry-focused Power Grid which is Mediaite’s trademark feature for ranking individuals and execs in various industries. The technology will rank 3,000 models, brands, execs, designers, reporters and others in the fashion industry based upon their power and media exposure weekly.
But Styleite aims to more than just a fashion news and analysis destination; the site also wants to be a fashion community. Styleite includes a feature , which is similar in theory to Like.com’s Weardrobe, that allows users to create a profile and upload photos of their outfits and then tag their photos with the brands and styles that they are wearing at the time. The aim is to socialize user generated content around fashion and engage visitors in the art of styling their clothes.
Abrams has seen considerable success with Mediaite since its launch last year, with the site making Technorati’s top 40 blogs list. Mediaite also expects to turn profitable this year as well. And Styleite may be able to draw a different demographic than the media and tech focused sites. I’m a fan of fashion-focused news sites incorporating social media and community creating tools into their platforms and I think Styliete could end up helping push the envelope forward when it comes to fashion journalism.