Blog #20 Fashion Magazine history

The first notion of fashion magazines began with the courts of aristocracy recording information about what they were wearing. In the late 1600s and 1700s. French women and dressmakers outside of the court, relied on sketches to see what was being worn. The sketches were complies in books that were reproduced and sold. By the 1780s. the French court had a number of journals circulated. By the 1900s, fashion magazines began to feature photography and nine years later Conde Nast purchased Vogue. from 1912 - 1925, La Gazette du Bon ton was the leading French fashion magazine by subscription only, for 100 francs a year. The magazine aimed to publish fashion as art alongside paintings, sculptures and drawings. According to the magazine's first editorial, "the clothing of a woman is a pleasure to the eye that cannot be judged inferior to other arts".

1916 - Nast created Vogue UK and Paris editions.

1920 - American fashion magazines expanded their content to feature journalism articles about women's sufferage and socialites.

1930 - GQ and esquire began covering men's fashion

1940 - American fashion magazines feature articles about working women fashion.


Vogue started off as a weekly newspaper in 1982. The first issue was published on December 7th. In 1902 Conde Nast purchased vogue and gradually grew the publication and eventually changed it to a unisex magazine. by 1911, the vogue brand required a reputation for catering to an elite audience.
In July 1932, American vogue placed its first first colour photograph. 1988, showed Anna Wintour being named editor - in - chief.


Bazar magazine was first published in 1867 by Harper brothers.When the magazine began, it was a tabloid size newspaper that catered to women in the middle and upper classes. It showcased fashion from Germany and Paris in a newspaper design format. It wasn't until 1901 that it moved to a monthly issued magazine which it maintains today. For the first 50 years of distribution Bazaar's covers were illustrated. In 1970 it expanded to Australia and the UK.