The History of Vogue

Vogue is the most powerful and recognized publication of the fashion industry. But do you know when it was released the first issue and how the various publications have been released over the years?

This is what you need to know about the history of Vogue.

Arthur Baldwin Turnure an American businessman, founded Vogue as a weekly newspaper based in New York City in 1892 to create a publication that celebrated the “ceremonial side of life”.

From its inception, the magazine targeted the new New York upper class, their habits, leisure activities, the places they frequented, and the clothing they wore…The magazine at this time was primarily concerned with fashion, with coverage of sports and social affairs included for its male readership.

The first issue was published on December 17 of that year, with a cover price of 10 cents ($2.85).

Vogue was weekly for the first 17 years of its existence. 

Today Vogue is part of Condè Nast, the global media company that owns brands such as Vogue, Allure, GQ, Glamour, Teen Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and others. Everything started in 1909 when Condé Montrose Nast, an American publisher, entrepreneur and business magnate and founder of Condè Nast, purchased Vogue and gradually grew the publication.  He changed it to a unisex magazine for women and made it a biweekly publication. 

Vogue’s first editor was Josephine Redding, who served from 1892 until 1900 and is credited with naming the publication.

For 25 years (from 1948–1972), Vogue was published 20 times a year, becoming a monthly in 1973. 

British Vogue was the first international edition launched in 1916 under the first editor-in-chief, Elspeth Champcommunal, while the French edition was launched in 1920.

In July 1932, American Vogue placed its first color photograph on the cover of the magazine.

In the 1950s, the decade known as the magazine’s “powerful years,”Jessica Daves became editor-in-chief. 

Diana Vreeland, Grace Mirabella and Anna Wintour are considered the 3 legendary editors-in-chief of American Vogue.

Diana Vreeland joined Vogue from Harper’s Bazaar first as Associate Editor, and in December 1962, became editor-in-chief. She led the magazine into a period of youth and vitality, but also “extravagance, and luxury and excess.”

Grace Mirabella started working at the magazine in the 1950s and served as its editor-in-chief between 1971 and 1988.

Mirabella states that she was chosen to change Vogue because “women weren’t interested in reading about or buying clothes that served no purpose in their changing lives.”^. She was selected to make the magazine appeal to “the free, working, “liberated” woman of the seventies. She changed the magazine by adding text with interviews, arts coverage, and serious health pieces. 

Anna Wintour was named editor-in-chief of Vogue in 1988 and in November she published her revolutionary cover, featuring Israeli model Michaela Bercu photographed by Peter Lindbergh and styled by Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele. This cover broke the rule because the model was wearing an haute couture Christian Lacroix jacket with denim jeans, mixing high and low fashion for the first time.

That same year when Anna Wintour arrived at Vogue, Franca Sozzani was named editor in chief of Vogue Italia.

Vogue Italia was launched in 1965, first published as Novità for one year (October 1964-November 1965).

In 1961, Condè Nast contacted the owner of the magazine Novità because they wanted to invest in a fashion magazine. In 1965 the magazine was named Vogue & Novità and Consuelo Crespi lead the launch until 1966.

In 1966, Franco Sartori was appointed as the first editor-in-chief and under his leadership he changed the name from Vogue & Novità to Vogue Italia, being the May 1966 issue the first issue under the new name. He held the position for 22 years until 1988 when Franca Sozzani became the second editor-in-chief for the publication.

American Vogue Editors-in-Chief

British Vogue Editors-in-Chief

Vogue Italia Editors-in-Chief

Vogue Paris Editors-in-chief