Elle (magazine)

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Elle
Cover of August 1993 with Stephanie Seymour and Marcus Schenkenberg, by Richard Avedon
EditorList of editors
CategoriesFashion
FrequencyWeekly (France and Italy only)
Monthly (worldwide)
Circulation4,000,000 (worldwide)[citation needed]
FounderHélène Gordon-Lazareff
First issue
CompanyLagardère Group (Elle brand ownership; international)
CountryFrance
LanguageBulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Website

Elle (stylized in all caps) is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, and society and lifestyle. The title Elle means She in English.[1] Elle is considered "one of the world's largest fashion and lifestyle publications", with 45 international editions[2] totalling 33 million readers and receiving 100 million unique monthly visitors on its 55 digital platforms.[3][4]

It was founded in Paris on 21 November 1945 by Hélène Gordon-Lazareff.[5] The magazine's readership has grown since its founding, increasing to 800,000 across France by the 1960s. Elle editions have since multiplied, creating a global network of publications and readers. Elle's international expansion began with Elle UK and Elle USA launches in 1985. Previous editors of the magazine include Jean-Dominique Bauby for Elle France, well known for his memoir, and Roberta Myers, the longest-serving editor-in-chief at Elle USA. Véronique Philipponnat is currently the director of Elle France. Nina Garcia currently holds the position of editor-in-chief at Elle USA, appointed after the departure of Roberta Myers. The Paris-based Lagardère Group owns the brand internationally. The official Elle headquarters is located in Levallois-Perret, Greater Paris.[6]

History

Hélène Gordon-Lazareff, Russian-born and Paris-raised, started Elle in Paris in the immediate aftermath of World War II. It was first sold as a supplement to France-Soir, edited at the time by Hélène's husband, Pierre Lazareff. Hélène, Elle's pioneering founder, returned to Paris from New York City to create a unique publication that grappled with the many forces shaping women's lives in France in 1945.[7] Women won the right to vote in 1944,[8] and Elle dove immediately into long-form "newspaper-like" features on women's role in national politics and the growing feminist movement.[9] In the Elle articles featuring rising fashion designers, the magazine would provide free patterns of some of their fashion pieces. This allowed the general public to experience haute couture as the glamour of the fashion world was becoming accessible to the common working class.[10]

Its 100th issue, published on 14 October 1947,[11] featured the work of Christian Dior just eight months after his debut show. Likewise, Brigitte Bardot had her first Elle cover at age 17, on 7 January 1952, months before her screen debut in Manina, the Girl in the Bikini. By the 1960s, Elle had a readership of 800,000 across France and was said to "not so much reflect fashion as decree it." This dominance was reflected in the famous slogan: "Si elle lit elle lit Elle (If she reads, she reads Elle)" (literal translation: "If she reads she reads She").[12]

Lagardère Group subsidiary, Hachette Filipacchi Médias began pushing Elle outside of France in 1985, launching Elle in the UK and the United States.[13] The Chinese version of the magazine was first published in 1988. It was the first four-colour fashion magazine offered in China. The magazine was an informational and educational tool for opening the Chinese textile market.[14][15] By 1991, the magazine's sales were in decline in the U.S.[16]

In 1987, Elle Decoration was launched in France by the Lagardère Group. The brand's internationalisation began in the US with the launch of Elle Decor in 1989.

Elle.com was launched in 2007.[17]

In 2011, Hearst Corporation reached a €651M deal with Lagardère to purchase the rights to publish Elle Magazine in fifteen countries including the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Russia and Ukraine.[18] Lagardère, which struggled in the international market in the 2000s, retained the rights to the French edition and would collect royalties from the international editions.[19] By retaining ownership of the Elle brand in France and through licensing forms in 25 countries, Lagardère remained "the guarantor of brand consistency".[20] The strategic decisions on Elle concerning the countries managed by Hearst would be "taken in close consultation" with Lagardère.[20]

Elle Brazil was the first commercial magazine in the world to have a transgender model on its cover, with Lea T. in December 2011. The Brazilian edition had also discovered transgender model Valentina Sampaio and had put her on the cover before French Vogue. Elle printed special collectors' covers for their September 2016 issue, and one featured Hari Nef, the first time an openly transgender woman had been on the cover of a major commercial British magazine.[21]

In April 2018, Lagardère Group sold Elle France to Daniel Křetínský via his holding company Czech Media Invest (CMI), parent of Czech News Center.[22] Lagardère continues to own the Elle brand in France and internationally by granting a "license for the exploitation of magazines".[22][23]

Notable editors-in-chief

Elle editors have included Jean-Dominique Bauby in France, who became known for writing a book after suffering almost total paralysis, and Robbie Myers for the USA edition.[24] In September 2017, it was announced that Roberta Myers was stepping down from the role of editor-in-chief of Elle USA, position she held since 2000, stating through a memo to the staff that "I want to spend the next seasons as available to my children as I can be, and so I take my leave of Elle now".[25] A day later of the announcement, it was reported that Nina Garcia, creative director of Marie Claire was appointed as the new editor-in-chief effective 18 September.[26] Patricia Wang was the first editor of Elle China.[27] Véronique Philipponnat [fr] is the current director of Elle France.

Circulation (ELLE France)

Total paid circulation[28]
Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Circulation 370,658 404,037 402,989 401,332 384,704 352,390 342,981 333,141 340,690 342,453 339,151 330,895 314,834 288,254

Operations

Elle includes region-specific editions within countries, such as Elle Hong Kong and Elle Québec, which are published in addition to Elle China and Elle Canada respectively. In Belgium, Elle is published as two magazines for the Flanders and Wallonia regions, while Elle Middle East is targeted at several countries in the region.[29] Technologically speaking, the Elle brand is a global network encompassing over 46 websites. Subscriptions account for 73 percent of readers in the USA. There are 46 Elle websites globally, which collectively attract over 100 million unique visitors.[30] In the US, the vast majority (82 per cent) of Elle's audience is women between 18 and 49. Its readers have a median age of 34.7 years.[29] 40 percent of the readers are single, and the median household income is $69,973.[31] "Our readers are young enough to think about life as an adventure and old enough to have the means to live it", said Roberta Myers, editor in chief.[32]

The first international editions of Elle were launched in the U.S. and UK in 1985.[33][34] Spain followed in 1986[35] with Italy and Hong Kong editions launching in 1987.[33] In 1988, the magazine was launched in Germany, Brazil, China, Sweden, Greece and Portugal. The next year, the Netherlands and Quebec joined the international Elle community. Australia and Taiwan versions were launched in 1990, Mexico and Argentina in 1994, and a Russian edition (closed now), published monthly, was launched in 1996.[36]

Elle is a brand owned by the Lagardère Group of France. It is published in France by Czech Media Invest, in the U.S. and the UK by Hearst Magazines, in Canada by KO Média, in Brazil by Grupo Editora Abril, in Mexico by Grupo Expansión, in Argentina by Grupo Clarín, in Indonesia by Mayapada, in Singapore by Atlas Press, in Serbia/Croatia by Adria Media, in Turkey by Doğan Burda Magazine,[37] in Germany by Hubert Burda Media, and in Romania by Ringier. In China, the publisher is Shanghai Translation Publishing House.[15] In India, it is published by Ogaan Publications Pvt. Ltd. As an international magazine, Elle has its headquarters in Paris as well as licensed publishers in New York City, London, Toronto, Mexico City, South Africa, Istanbul, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brussels, Lisbon, Tokyo, Warsaw, Belgrade, Oslo, Helsinki, Bucharest, Athens, Delhi, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Jakarta, Kyiv, Kuala Lumpur, Sofia, Budapest, Bangkok and other cities.

In December 2013, Elle US hired Randy Minor as design director.[38] In November 2016, Elle Canada promoted Vanessa Craft to editor-in-chief, making her the first black woman at the helm of an Elle magazine globally.[39]

In mid-July 2020, Elle's Australian publisher Bauer Media Australia and New Zealand, which had been acquired by Mercury Capital, terminated the magazine's Australian edition, citing declining advertising revenue and travel restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.[40][41] As of 2021, Elle is being published by Are Media, the successor to Bauer Media Australia.[42]

At the end of 2021, Elle announced that all global editions would ban fur from their pages as of Jan. 1, 2023, citing "a really great opportunity to increase awareness for animal welfare, bolster the demand for sustainable and innovative alternatives and foster a more humane fashion industry."[43] In recent years, several fashion houses and retailers have discontinued animal fur and skin use in their products due to pressure from animal rights groups who are calling for more cruelty-free clothing options and changing tastes from younger, ethically minded customers.

Editors

  • Véronique Philipponnat (France)[44]
  • Nina Garcia (US)[38]
  • Kenya Hunt (UK)
  • Winnie Wan (HK)
  • Genevra Leek (Australia)
  • Arlette Barrionuevo & Gabriela Silvestre (Argentina)
  • Kamna Malik (India)
  • Xiao Xue (China)
  • Melda Narmanlı Çimen (Turkey)
  • Joanna Fox (Canada)
  • Joanna Fox (Quebec)
  • Caroline Suganda (Singapore)
  • Kullawit Laosuksri (Thailand)
  • Cecilie Ingdal (Denmark)
  • Sonya Zabouga (Ukraine)
  • Barbara Sekirnik (Slovenia)
  • Ruben William Steven (Indonesia)
  • Dariya Nogayeva (Kazakhstan)
  • Ana Ostojic (Serbia)
  • Pam Hothi (South Africa)
  • Lien Chi Nguyen (Vietnam)
  • Roxana Voloseniuc (Romania)
  • Nambi Kezic (Croatia)
  • Benedetta Poletti (Spain)
  • Marta Drożdż (Poland)
  • Maria Georgieva (Bulgaria)
  • Susana Barbosa (Brazil)
  • Thea Kučerová (Czech Republic)
  • Danda Santini (Italy)
  • Julia Juyeon Kang (Korea)
  • Kate Guest (Malaysia) – not in charge as of 2022
  • Sabine Nedelchev (Germany)
  • Kanako Sakai (Japan – Digital EIC)
  • Maria Patoucha (Greece)
  • Signy Fardal (Norway)
  • Florence Lu (Taiwan)
  • Dina Spahi (Arabia)
  • Nada Kabbani (Arabia – Digital EIC)
  • Claudia Cándano (Mexico)
  • Cia Jansson (Sweden)
  • Marie Guérin (Belgium)
  • Anke de Jong (Netherlands)

See also

References

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  3. ^ "Elle says will drop fur from magazines worldwide". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 2 December 2021. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  4. ^ Etancelin, Valentin (2 December 2021). "Le magazine 'Elle' bannit la fourrure de toutes ses publications" ['Elle' magazine bans fur from all its publications]. HuffPost (in French). Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  5. ^ Bloch-Lainé, Virginie (16 August 2023). "Une biographie d'Hélène Gordon-Lazareff: diva de la presse" [A biography of Hélène Gordon-Lazareff: press diva]. Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
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  10. ^ "You are being redirected..." thetempest.co. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
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  12. ^ "Magazines: Si Elle Lit Elle Lit Elle". Time. 22 May 1964. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
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  21. ^ Sarah Hughes (30 July 2016). "Meet Hari Nef: actor, model – and Elle's first transgender cover girl in UK |Society". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  22. ^ a b "Lagardère lance la vente de 'Elle' à un groupe tchèque" [Lagardère launches the sale of 'Elle' to a Czech group]. Challenges (in French). 18 April 2018. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023. {{cite magazine}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
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  39. ^ "Elle Canada has a New Editor-in-Chief - Masthead Online News".
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External links