Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine covering many topics including fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. As a publication, Vogue is highly influential to me, I love to keep up with the latest issues. In particular I love viewing the photography that is featured in each issue. For my final major project I have decided to explore and create work that demonstrates how fashion has evolved over the decades. I believe that vogue is a great source for me to refer to, as it has been around for 128 years.
The first issue of Vogue saw the light in 1892 in America. It was founded in 1892 by Arthur Baldwin Turnure, an American businessman, as a weekly newspaper in the United States.
Condé Nast (1873-1942) bought Vogue in 1909, the volume of the magazine became thicker and its main focus was turned on women. One of the first changes Condé Nast made was to make Vogue a biweekly publication.
In 1916, the First World War made it impossible for Vogue to deliver to the Old World, therefore, they started to print in England. This decision proved to be successful and soon, in 1920, the first issue of French Vogue was released.
In 1932, American Vogue became one of the first magazines to print a colour photo on its cover. Since that time the World’s best photographers – Irwin Penn and Guy Burden, Richard Avedon and Norman Parkinson, Helmut Newton and Peter Lindberg – became Vogue’s contributors.
For 25 years (from 1948–1972), the magazine was published 20 times a year, becoming a monthly in 1973.
In the 1960s the American Vogue, under the leadership of Diana Vriland, had become the symbol of a new era – more creative and sexy. The magazine redefined the look of female models, showing shapely figures which highlight thin, gender-neutral physiques.
Vogue’s August 1974 cover was the first to picture an African American model.
Another important period in American Vogue history began in 1988, when Anna Wintour became the editor of Vogue and immediately transformed Vogue covers by emphasising the woman’s body, rather than just her faces. Wintour also began Teen Vogue (2003) and Men’s Vogue (2005–08).
In 2009 a documentary called The September Issue was released. This film is a behind-the-scenes drama that follows editor-in-head Anna Wintour and her staff during the production of the September 2007 issue of American Vogue magazine. The September issue was the record-breaking 840-page magazine.
Vogue has evident international success, with editions published around the globe. One of the world’s most prominent fashion magazines, as it has heavily influenced the development of the fashion magazine industry and continues to shape modern fashion trends.
Final Major Project 