VOGUE

COMMUNICATION AND PUBLISHING ,   MAGAZINE ,   V

VOGUE IS A PERIODICAL WOMEN’S FASHION MAGAZINE BORN IN 1892 IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE BEHEST OF ARTHUR B. TURNURE

On December 17, 1892, Arthur Baldwin Turnure started a social journal to represent New York high society. It showed habits and customs, but also interests and a comfortable lifestyle. The intentions of this magazine were already clear from its title: Vogue, or “to be in vogue, to be in fashion”

When Conde William Nast, son of a famous American cartoonist, neither bought the property in 1909, it became the most authoritative fashion magazine in the world. Under his direction, the magazine changed from weekly to biweekly and reached a hundred pages. In addition, the covers became
more colorful thanks to the predominance of photos and illustrations. Purchasable for ten pounds a copy, it was originally aimed at both a male and female audience, in fact, there were several columns dedicated to men’s fashion and sports, fiction and poetry. The first director of the women’s section was Josephine Redding, a woman belonging to the New York social environment, remembered above all for having given the magazine its name and having created together with the artistic director Harry McVickar the first graphic prototype of the iconic font of the magazine.

Under the wise, visionary and tireless guidance of the journalist Edna Woolman Chase, director of Vogue from 1895 to 1957, and the entrepreneurial initiative of Nast himself, a very skilled “dream merchant”, he was able to make use of the most important illustrators of the time such as Lepape , Vertés and Benito , and the most successful writers.

Vogue cover by Lepape, 1930Cover by Lepape, 1930

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE IMAGE

He quickly understood the importance of the photographic image for fashion sales. He was in fact among the first to consider it as an authentic form of art. Precisely in this medium, lies the great innovation brought by this magazine. Photography becomes a valid means for fashion communication, it becomes in effect an art form. It is the culture, the love for art, the attendance of artistic circles and Nast’s intuition that persuade Cecil Beaton , who joined Vogue as a designer, to launch himself into photography. He also convinced Edward Steichen to abandon painting to become that talent of the lens that he will later prove to be.

In 1932, a color photograph appeared for the first time on the cover of Vogue America. From this moment on, Vogue will boast an assiduous collaboration with the best photographers in the world including Irving Penn , Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Peter Lindberg . Also  Man Ray,  George Hoyningen-Huene ,  Horst and Jacques-Henri Lartigue . The fashion photo shoots, despite the demanding economic investment, become the strong point of the magazine even after the economic earthquake caused by the 1929 crisis.

Cover by Helmut Newton, October 1973Cover by Helmut Newton, October 1973

Thanks to Vogue, a series of professional figures specialized in fashion publishing are born, which today form an integral and fundamental part of the sector’s industry. Through the pages of Vogue, fashion photographers become sacred monsters and brands officially become part of the fashion system.

VOGUE UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWHOUSE FAMILY

Vogue was immediately a magazine that told about reality through fashion. In fact, during the Great Crisis of ’29, the Smart Fashion for Limited Incomes column (which later became Fashions On A War Income ) was very successful: a column created to make affable essential shapes and with a reduced quantity
of fabric. The cover of the May 1930 issue was significant, featuring a drawing by Georges Lepape and a scream advertising the chicest tips for those on a tight budget.

After Nast’s death, in 1959 the publishing house was taken over by Samuel I Newhouse, owner of the media company Advance Publications. Newhouse launched other major editions of the magazine including Vogue Italia (1965), L’Uomo Vogue (1968), Vogue Brasil (1975), Vogue Deutschland (1979) and Vogue España (1988).

In 2009 The September Issue was released , the documentary directed by RJ Cutler in which the creation of the most anticipated number of the year of the edition of Vogue America is described, precisely that of September.

In recent years, Vogue has witnessed social and sartorial changes: from miniskirts to women’s tuxedos and blue jeans up to hi-tech clothes, increasingly acquiring a role of
cultural promoter.

VOGUE ITALY

The Italian edition was born in 1965 after the merger with the novelty magazine . It becomes Vogue & News in November 1965, under the aegis of Consuelo Crespi . In 1965, Franco Sartori became director who gave the magazine a well-defined graphic imprint: clean, decisive and playful layout with the protagonist image. The following year the magazine was renamed Vogue Italia. Under the direction of Sartori, the magazine embodied the rebellious, radical and brilliant spirit of the late 1960s. Significantly, also embracing the echoes of Swinging London, without losing sight of Italian fashion and the Italian spirit.

FRANCA SOZZANI’S EDITORIALS

After Sartori’s death in July 1988, Franca Sozzani was appointed to lead the magazine . He signs his first issue of July / August with an essential cover but anticipating the editorial will of the new director, entitled “ The new style”. Sozzani revolutionized the magazine bringing it to the pinnacle of success. Sharp and aggressive graphics combined with the refined style typical of the monthly. Her editorials were provocative and often met with social denunciation such as the case of Makeover madness (July 2005) against the abuse of cosmetic surgery, State of emergency (September 2006) in which the atrocity of weapons is told or Black Issue(July 2008) dedicated entirely to black models to raise awareness in the world of fashion on issues concerning racism.

Black Issue by Franca SozzaniBlack Issue by Franca Sozzani

THE POST FRANCA SOZZANI: EMANUELE FARNETI AND FRANCESCA RAGAZZI

On the death of Franca Sozzani, in 2016 the management passed to Emanuele Farneti . Farneti takes up the tradition of the magazine to reinterpret it to contemporary society with ever-changing needs. Its level of quality and prestige has remained unchanged since the time of Condé Nast. Thanks to this extraordinary continuity it is possible, as claimed by Alexander Liberman for a long time artistic director of the American edition of the monthly, to reconstruct through Vogue a visual history of fashion and elegance of a century. The current director of the American edition is Anna Wintour , of the French one is Emmanuelle Alt , of the English one Alexandra Shulman.

In July 2021, Farneti leaves the management of the magazine in the wake of the organization of the editorial team of Condé Nast. In September Francesca Ragazzi was appointed Head of Editorial Content for Vogue Italia.

Read also:

Marie Claire

Vogue marries the battle of gender fluid with Harry Styles

Suzy Menkes leaves Vogue after six years