“Vogue’s power is universally acknowledged. It's the place everybody wants to be if they want to be in the world of fashion”
⚬ December, 1892: Vogue was created by Arthur Baldwin Turnure and Harry McVickar in New York City, as a 30 page weekly newspaper. The intention was to create a publication focus on the “ceremonial side of life” for “attracts the sage as well as debutante, men of affairs, as well as the belle” Dated December 17, 1892, Vogue’s first issue featured a debutante emerging from an ethereal (and, on imagination, perfumed) cloud of butterflies and roses. This budding pillar of society was drawn by A. B. Wenzell, a fashionable artist whose work was described at the time as being popular “with the art worshippers of society.” Curious fact: The first vogue’s was priced at $0.10, equivalent to $2.85 today.
⚬ September, 1916: During the great war, Conde Nast was struggling with restrictions on overseas shipping. In order to be able to publish Vogue in Europe, he decided to create the first international Vogue. He choose Elspeth Champcommunal to be the editor. The magazine was almost identical to the American, the only difference was the British spelling. The first issue came on September 15th, 1916.
With the pass of time, Champcommunal wanted Vogue to be more than a fashion magazine- adding topics such as health, beauty, sport and society, travelogues and editorials
⚬ June, 1920: The French edition of Vogue was first issued on 15 June 1920. The illustration was made by Helen Dryden. The first fashion editor was Edna Woolman Chase, who was the fashion editor of both Vogue and British Vogue
⚬ July, 1932: For the first time in history, vogue was covered by a coloured photograph, not an illustration. Was shot by Edward Steinch. Unfortunately, the name of the model stays unknown
⚬ January, 1933: For the first time in the history, a black woman was illustrated in a vogue cover
⚬ August, 1933: The cover features Toto Koopman, a model who was bisexual and biracial. She portrays a woman that readers during the Great Depression would dream to be like.
⚬ February, 1941: portraying the American participation in the second world war
⚬ July, 1942: In the very middle of the II World War, Vogue covered what united every citizen in America- the sense of love and admiration for their country
⚬ June, 1945: Issue celebrating the end of the II World War
⚬ October, 1945: Peace and Reconstruction Issue
“I’ve been looking at a lot of the wartime issues of Vogue recently, for obvious reasons, and this is just so good. I can’t even imagine what it was like to live through nightly bombing raids, how fearful people must have been for the future. The simplicity of this image, conceived by Vogue’s art director James de Holden Stone, with the beautiful colours, the calm skies... It really offers a moment of peace after chaos. Looking at this, I feel we will push through and prevail.”- Edward Enninful
⚬ April, 1950: Jean Patchett’s cover capture by the great Irving Penn marks the beginning of an era in pop culture history with the emergence of Hollywood cinema starlets and fashion models.
⚬ January, 1963: The first Vogue issue under Diana Vreeland command; the magazine began to appeal to the youth of the sexual revolution by focusing more on contemporary fashion and editorial features that openly discussed sexuality. She helped models like Twiggy, Veruschka and Jean Shrimpton to became the icons they were. After she was fired from Vogue, in 1972, she became a consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
⚬ October, 1964 The first Vogue Italy, starring the supermodel Wilhelmina Cooper by Irving Penn. Until November, 1965, Vogue Italia was published as Novita
⚬ March, 1966: Donayale Luna became the first black model to cover Vogue, in the British edition. Also known as the first black supermodel, whose real name is Peggy Anne Freeman, was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1945. The editor-in-chief, Edmond Charles-Roux, was fired because of his model choice
⚬ April, 1967: Twiggy appeared on her first vogue cover, photographed by Bert Stern. Twiggy went from Lesley Hornby, a girl born in London to an era-defining face due her iconic haircut, big eyes and fashion style. With only 16 years old, she shaped the entire fashion of the 60's
⚬ July, 1970: Helmut Berger became the first ever man to appear on the cover of Vogue when he co-starred with Marisa Berenson on the July 1970 Issue of the British edition. To this day, only one man was featured alone in the cover.
⚬ January, 1973: When Vogue became a monthly magazine. The new editor Grace Mirabella made the magazine underwent extensive editorial and stylistic changes to respond to changes in the lifestyles of its target audience. For Mirabella, she was chosen to change Vogue because "women weren't interested in reading about or buying clothes that served no purpose in their changing live”. She was selected to make the magazine appeal to "the free, working liberated" woman of the seventies.
⚬ August, 1974: Beverly Johnson appeared in Vogue US, being the first black woman to cover the American edition
⚬ August 1981: The Princess of Wales, 20-year-old Lady Diana ( née Spencer), was photographed by Lord Snowdon for the August 1981 cover, the release of the magazine coincided with her wedding to Prince Charles on 29 July 1981. Vogue also released a celebratory wedding supplement to mark the occasion, which reflected on how it had covered previous royal nuptials
⚬ November, 1988: Anna Wintour was chosen to became editor-in-chief, a position she still holds. On her first cover, featured a three-quarter-length photograph of Michaela Bercu, an Israeli model, wearing a bejeweled Christian Lacroix jacket and a pair of jeans, a departure from her predecessors' tendency to portray a woman's face alone, affirming the importance to both her clothing and her body.
Noted for her trademark bob cut and sunglasses, Wintour revitalized the brand by making it younger and more approachable. Wintour's influence allowed the magazine to maintain its high circulation, while staff discovered new trends that a broader audience could conceivably afford.
⚬ November, 1989: Anna Wintour’s first September cover went to Naomi Campbell.
⚬ January, 1990: Photographed by Peter Lindbergh, the cover truly epitomises the iconic supermodel era. Featuring Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford.
“The world was changing and this is how women wanted to be seen: natural, laid-back, with no make-up. It was inner beauty at its best, and that’s what Peter was so good at capturing. We learnt the names of these girls who would be the most incredible models of the decade"
⚬ April, 1992: 100th anniversary cover, featuring the biggest 90’s supermodels. This is the highest-selling issue in the history of the magazine
⚬ March, 1993: Kate Moss appeared on her first ever Vogue. Photographed by Corinne Day. Since then, Moss covered 119 covers. At the time, the cover spoke to a whole generation, and it defined the London style
⚬ December, 1998: Hillary Clinton becomes the first American first lady to cover the magazine
⚬ July, 1999: Gisele’s first US vogue, marking the end of the heroin-chic and the beginning of the sexy model era.
To this day, she’s the model with most vogue covers in the history: 132 and counting!
⚬ November, 1999 : The millennium cover : “for the simple reason that they [models] have personified this magazine for more than a century.” explained Anne Wintour
Including Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen, Lauren Hutton, Iman, Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, Amber Valletta, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Lisa Taylor, Paulina Porizkova, Carolyn Murphy, Patti Hansen
⚬ September, 2004: The biggest issue, measured 832 pages, the highest ever for a monthly magazine.
For the iconic cover, Steven Meisel photographed Daria Werbowy, Natalia Vodianova, Gisele Bundchen, Isabeli Fontana, Karolina Kurkova, Liya Kebede, Hana Soukupova, Gemma Ward and Karen Elson
⚬ May, 2007: Entitled "The next supermodels" features the rising models at the time: Caroline Trentini, Chanel Iman, Coco Rocha, Doutzen Kroes, Hilary Rhonda, Jessica Stam, Lily Donaldson, Raquel Zimmermann and Sasha Pivovarova
⚬ March, 2009: The inauguration of US President Barack Obama left a cultural imprint on American history, becoming the first black president. For the cover, first lady, Michelle Obama, was closely followed by the press for her fashion stylings and designers of choice. Her March 2009 cover showcases her as a woman of style and power.. and she was seen on Vogue twice more
⚬ April, 2014: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West appears in one of the most controversial cover shoots for the magazine. Kim is the first reality television star on the cover and Kanye is the first rapper. They are also the first interracial couple to appear on the cover of the magazine
For me, this cover shows the empire and influence of the Kardashian clan
⚬ December 2020: Harry Styles becomes the first man to appear by himself on the cover of Vogue
I hope you like my selection of the most important covers of the household magazine. Thank you so much for reading
