Vogue is one of the most influential magazines and has maintained its supremacy in the field for 130 years. Though it is mainly a women’s fashion magazine that deals with beauty and the latest fashion trends, it also provides insight into several other topics such as architecture, design, celebrities, art, culture, travel and horoscopes. Founded by Arthur Baldwin Turnure in 1892 for the New York social elites, it has travelled a long way since then. Now it is a globally recognized brand when it comes to fashion and beauty. Let us know about ‘The History of Vogue’.
The History of Vogue:
Vogue has evolved with changing fashion trends by keeping up with people’s ephemeral interests, which can be considered one of the main reasons for its success. It has featured various people contributing significantly in their fields and creating an impact, such as athletes, models, musicians, actors and other celebrities. Vogue started its journey in 1892 as a weekly newspaper and achieved heights by being a monthly magazine under the Conde Nast publications. As of today, it has 26 international editions.
Getting Acquired by Conde Nast:
Arthur Baldwin Tutnure founded Vogue, initially as a weekly high society journal for the social elites of New York. It covered topics like traditions prevalent in high society, and social etiquette. Besides that, it showcased the local social news and reviewed and critiqued books, plays and music. In 1909, three years after Tutnure’s death, Conde Montrose Nast bought Vogue and transformed it into a women’s fashion magazine that laid the foundation for the world’s most exclusive global media company. Nast was a visionary, and by using his innovative journalistic concepts and audacious ideas, he changed the course of publishing.
He appointed the best illustrators and photographers of the era and created a brand in the publishing industry. It was a sophisticated and occasionally revolutionary magazine, and due to his efforts, Vogue became renowned for its high-quality editorial work and characteristic photographs. In 1932, it became the first magazine ever to print coloured photographs on its cover page and established many such trends in the world of publishing and fashion.
Important Highlights of Vogue’s Journey:
| Important Years | Events |
| 1916 | British Vogue was launched |
| 1920 | The first issue of French Vogue launched |
| 1932 | Vogue became the first magazine to publish coloured photographs |
| 1950s | Jessica Daves became the editor-in-chief of vogue with her mission to educate and elevate the public’s taste. |
| 1960s | With Diana Vreeland as the editor, the magazine redefined the look of female models. |
| 1974 | Vogues feature an African American Model on its cover page |
| 1988 | Anna Wintour revitalized Vogue by making it younger and more approachable. |
| 2003 | Wintour launched the ‘Teen Vogue |
| 2007 | The record-breaking 840 pages September issue was launched. |
The Phenomenal Editors of Vogue:
During the 1950s, Jessica Daves was the editor-in-chief, and under her leadership, this period was considered the most influential decade for the magazine. It was stated, that she led the charge for excellence during the most challenging, transformative time for the magazine. She believed in the fact that taste is something that can be developed and her sole mission was to elevate people’s interest and taste when it comes to fashion. During her time though fashion coverage was the priority, she even focused on improving the quality of the written content and particularly focused on art and literature features.
Diana Vreeland, joined as the editor-in-chief in the year 1962, bringing an end to Dave’s era. Both of them being amazing in the field of fashion and publishing had very contrasting views and approaches. Daves considered fashion as a serious business and hated it when people considered it as a joke, while Vreeland saw fashion from an entertainment perspective. She led the magazine in a new era of youth and vitality, where the magazine depicted the ideas of luxury, extravagance and excess. In the 1960s under her command Vogue even started featuring the sexual revolution by focusing more on contemporary fashion and had more editorial features that discussed sexuality publicly and brazenly.
In the year 1973, Vogue became a monthly magazine, during this time Grace Mirabella was the editor-in-chief, and she introduced various huge editorial and stylistic changes to adapt to the changes in the lifestyle of its target audience. She understood the fact that it was time to alter their approach towards fashion as women were no longer interested in reading about clothes that served no purpose in their changing lives, she made Vogue appealing to free-working women of the 70s. She even introduced some new features in the magazine such as interviews, art coverages, and serious health pieces.
Vogue started to lose against the three-year-old “Elle” in the year 1988, which is when they named Anna Wintour as the editor-in-chief to revitalize the brand and make it younger and more approachable. The magazine was able to maintain its high circulation because of Wintour’s influence, and the staff also uncovered new trends that a larger readership would be able to afford. In contrast to her predecessors’ propensity to only show a woman’s face, Wintour, for instance, chose to show three-quarters of the Israeli model Michaela Bercu wearing a jewelled Christian Lacroix jacket and a pair of jeans on the magazine’s first cover. The New York Times noted that this “gave greater importance to both her clothing and her body”. During her time, she oversaw some of the largest issues that were published which include the September 2012, 916 pages long issue, and to this day she remains the editor-in-chief as she accomplished a huge feat by revitalizing the magazine.
Conclusion:
Vogue has achieved popularity on a global scale, with both regular and special editions being published. One of the most well-known fashion publications in the world, it has had a significant impact on the growth of the fashion magazine industry and continues to affect current fashion trends. The New York Times dubbed Vogue “high fashion’s bible” in 2009.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Which is the most popular issue in Vogue?
The September Issue is the most popular and biggest issue by Vogue, first published in 2007 with 840 pages. There is even a documentary named “The September Issue” released in the year 2009 which shows all the hard work that went behind it by the staff and the editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
- How many International Publications does Vogue have?
Vogue has 26 international publications with the British Vogue being the first in the year 1916. During World War I when the deliveries of the magazine were impossible that is when the operations were shifted to Britain which led to international publications.
