Vogue is a prominent lifestyle and fashion magazine published in the United States. It launched in 1892 as a regular high-society newspaper edited by Arthur Turnure for New York City's social elite. The magazine covered local social news, high-society customs, and etiquette. Furthermore, it also critiqued novels, plays, and music. Condé Nast, the creator of Condé Publications, acquired Vogue in 1909. He then reimagined it as a women's fashion magazine centered on beauty, poise, and etiquette.

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Vogue quickly established a reputation for its striking pictures and strong editorial standards. Nast employed the greatest artists and shooters of the time, who created dependably sophisticated and sometimes groundbreaking covers for the magazine. Vogue was one of the very first publications to issue a color photograph on its cover in 1932. The magazine revolutionized the concept of female models in the 1960s, discarding shapely forms in favor of slim, gender-neutral physiques. Vogue's August 1974 cover featured an African-American model for the first time.

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Anna Wintour was appointed as the editor of Vogue in 1988. She quickly revolutionized the magazine's covers by focusing on the woman's body rather than simply her face. Vogue often featured Hollywood actors rather than typical fashion models, igniting a worldwide trend.

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Founded in: 1892

Country: United States

Estimated annual revenue: $161.6M

Website: https://www.vogue.com/

A little more than a year ago, Marc Lotenberg, the CEO of Future Media Group, said that W Magazine was in "survival mode." Seventeen of its sixty employees were fired at the time. The company was looking for a buyer. Then came the new owner of the magazine, who was none other than Karlie Kloss and an investment group, including the CEO of BDG, Bryan Goldberg. They bought W for an unspecified amount, then established W Media in August 2020 to continue running the magazine.

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Bustle Digital Group has been the magazine's partner in business since then. They've been in charge of the magazine's marketing strategy and technology changes. W magazine was BDG 's first step into the luxury market and helped the firm gain more opportunities to work with different new advertisers.

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Thanks to BDG's sales team, it looks like W's financial crisis has finally been lifted. People bought the digital version of the magazine more than they did in 2020 in the first three months of this year. This was 25% more than the goal for the quarter's revenue. The net profits of both the printed and digital issues are expected to make more money in the first half of 2022 than they did last year, by 10%.

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Founded in: 1972

Country: United States

Estimated annual revenue: $100M

Website: https://www.wmagazine.com/

ELLE magazine has never been known for its obsession with fashion. When Hélène Gordon Lazareff and her spouse Pierre Lazareff, creator of the daily newspaper France-Soir, founded the original French weekly in 1945, they set out to do things in a different way. This featured advertising-free issues (an effort to de-corporatize publishing), consistent long-form coverage, and "a new tone" - as described by the French Audiovisual Institute, in which Lazareff placed a "special focus on freedom, feminist demands, and the consumer society."

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While most fashion mags in 1945 – only a year after French women gained the freedom to vote – published issues dominated by sparkly editorial visuals, ELLE (French for "she") established itself as more of a news outlet than a magazine due to its long and tedious articles that frequently included in-depth conversations of topics such as feminism, which was a polarizing issue at the time. Naturally, there was still a strong emphasis on color and fashion.

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In 2022, ELLE is now one of the world's biggest fashion magazines, with 50 editions worldwide.

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Founded in: 1945

Country: France

Estimated annual revenue: $92.8M

Website: https://www.elle.com/

Harper's Bazaar is a monthly fashion magazine for women published in the United States of America. Harper's Bazaar was founded in 1867 , and it was one of the very first periodicals to examine women's lives through a fashion perspective.

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Harper's Bazaar promoted itself on the front of its initial issue in 1867 as "a reservoir of beauty, pleasure, and education." Bazar (without one letter 'a') was formed by Harper & Brothers. It was a New York publishing firm owned by brothers John, James, Joseph Wesley, along with Fletcher Harper. The Harpers had already established themselves as prominent book publishers at the time. They'd also dabbled on periodicals with Harper's New Monthly and Harper's Weekly, which were illustrated magazines dedicated to current literature and commentary on the arts, sciences, and politics.

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Harper's Bazaar is produced by Hearst and advertises itself as the "style bible" for "women who are willing to purchase the best items, from casual to couture." Bazaar’s goal is to attract readers who are "discerning females." Since its inception as America's first fashion magazine in 1867, its pages have featured lots of talents such as founding editor, novelist, and interpreter Mary Louise Booth, as well as a slew of fashion editors, photographers, artists, and writers. Glenda Bailey serves as editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar's United States edition.

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Founded in: 1867

Country: United States

Estimated annual revenue: $70M

Website: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/

Vanity Fair is a monthly magazine published in the United States that explores art, fashion, and politics. The magazine's first issue debuted in 1859, and then Condé Nast Publications revived it in 1914. During the Jazz Age, Vanity Fair established itself as a cultural force, publishing the works of contemporary painters, illustrators, and authors while also commercializing celebrity portraits. After partnering with Vogue magazine in 1936, Vanity Fair discontinued publishing and did not reemerge until 1983, when it was resurrected by Condé Nast.

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Tina Brown edited the magazine, which catered to the lavish materialism of 1980s young professionals. On its cover, the new Vanity Fair showcased celebrity photographs and highlighted controversies, wealth, and popular culture. Vanity Fair launched an international edition in 1991. The next year, with an editor in chief, Graydon Carter, the journal improved the overall qualities of its articles and raised its financial returns.

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Vanity Fair is most recognized for its celebrity pictures and the debate that sometimes accompanies a slew of quite provocative photos. Furthermore, the journal has a reputation for colorful writing, in-depth research, and perceptive social commentary. Vanity Fair's circulation of over one million copies in the first ten years of the twenty-first century was powered by a mostly female audience.

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Founded in: 1959

Country: United States

Estimated annual revenue: $63.9M

Website: https://www.vanityfair.com/

GQ is a men's fashion magazine founded in New York in 1931 as a commercial periodical. It was made accessible to a wider public in 1957. GQ was targeted to wholesalers and merchants of men's clothes, offering fashion tips and teaching them how to appeal to male clients. A few years later, GQ's editor-in-chief shifted the magazine's emphasis away from fashion, establishing it as a broad men's publication.

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In 2003, GQ underwent another makeover to fight against the British "lad" publications FHM and Maxim. Advertised to a younger demographic of readers (ages 19 to 30), this magazine started paying more attention to pop culture trends. Hence, it began to incorporate shorter news headlines, a new addition to its usual intensive essays and interviews.

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GQ is well-known among men's style and culture publications for its relative sophistication. Apart from fashion, the magazine covers topics such as economics, tourism, entertainment, sports, technology, cuisine and wine, fitness, and relationships. GQ often includes interviews with celebrities, professional sport players, and rock artists. Moreover, the magazine provides an annual "GQ Men of the Year" award to honor the most powerful men in a range of industries.

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Founded in: 1931

Country: United States

Estimated annual revenue: $60.8M

Website: https://www.gq.com/

Cosmopolitan, abbreviated as Cosmo, is a monthly women's magazine published in over 50 countries. The magazine, which is mostly ad-supported, contains short fictions and advice-oriented pieces on marriages, sex, clothing, entertainment, and jobs. The Cosmopolitan was founded in 1886 by Schlicht & Field Corporation as a family magazine devoted to fashion, home décor, cookery, and other household interests.

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In 1889, John Brisben Walker acquired the journal and increased its distribution from 20000 to 400000 copies. Walker's Cosmopolitan developed into a prominent literary journal in the United States, publishing poems, travel columns, and short story collections with a heavy emphasis on community and educational change. By 1905, the journal had risen to a readership of two million and included literary stories as well as columns about celebrities and national issues.

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When Helen Brown was appointed Cosmopolitan's first woman editor in 1964, the floundering magazine underwent a remarkable transformation. It started solely focusing on the preferences of young women under a new motto—"fun, brave, feminine." Its depiction of promiscuity, fertility control, and corporate professions created controversy in the 1960s. Yet, Brown's unflinching, candid treatment of the "Cosmo girl" lifestyle led to the slow shift of societal standards.

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Founded in: 1886

Country: United States

Estimated annual revenue: $50M

Website: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/

The way Allure observes the world and describes people and places is through the prism of beauty. In fact, before Allure, beauty magazines were not always so... up to date. We might even say that before Allure, there was no beauty journalism. Allure paved the way for a new kind of beauty analysis by looking at scientific studies, questioning the norm, and investigative reports.

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Linda Wells used to be a reporter for the New York Times before she was chosen to initiate the magazine. For over three decades, she has been changing the way people talk about, find, and share beauty. The magazine is recognized for its groundbreaking approach to beauty, clever and truthful articles about current issues that affect women, such as the perils of breast implants, disordered eating, and heroin addiction.

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Allure has been praised for its value and flexibility in journalism, as well as for its strong sense of style in photography. As a result, it has built a strong fanbase that has grown to more than 1.150.000 readers ever since its debut in 1991.

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Founded in: 1991

Country: United States

Estimated annual revenue: $45M

Website: https://www.allure.com/

Esquire is a monthly magazine published in the United States of America. It was created in 1932 by Arnold Gingrich. The brand started as an enormous men's magazine with a sleek, sophisticated layout, featuring illustrations of barely clothed young ladies. It eventually abandoned its titillating nature but maintained an impression of riches and exquisite taste.

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The early notoriety of Esquire stemmed from a famous lawsuit. In 1943, Frank C. Walker, the United States governor general, attempted to revoke Esquire's second-class postal privileges (a financial rate generally considered necessary for a magazine's survival) on the grounds that the magazine was "not devoted to useful information" and thus did not qualify for the mail subsidy. Gingrich and his allies objected, mobilizing prominent authors in their support; he sued Walker and won his case eventually in 1946.

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Esquire was a forerunner in its exploration of unusual subjects and feature pieces. It gave a platform for emerging fiction and nonfiction authors. Moreover, its topical content, satirical humor, and movie reviews filled a hole in the American market between literature and opinion journals. While the magazine retained an emphasis on men's clothes and advertising, Esquire slowly morphed into a more general-audience brand.

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Founded in: 1932

Country: United States

Estimated annual revenue: $25M

Website: https://www.esquire.com/

Grazia Magazine has always been a prominent product of its time, having been born out of the vitality of the 1920s on the verge of World War II. Grazia is more than a refined fashion and beauty magazine; it is a proudly empowered cultural touchstone. The brand participates in the most important issues around the world while providing incisive analysis, potent inspiration, and unflinching support for women who are leading the way toward changes.

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For instance, Grazia made headlines—literally—in 1968 when it conducted an interview with Italian novelist Camilla Cederna. She was credited with bringing investigative reportage to the Italian mainstream press. In her books and on the pages of Grazia, she was merciless in her criticism of the controversial Italian government. Throughout the decades that followed, Grazia continued to pave the way for progressive issues – most notably those affecting the health and lives of women worldwide.

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In the 1970s, the journal advocated for women's abortion rights—a courageous attitude in a mostly Catholic country. Numerous issues publicly embraced feminism, and frequent political cartoons provided readers a funny view on subjects that mattered most. Grazia will always be a cultural pioneer, years ahead of the game in terms of development and reinvention.

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Founded in: 1938

Country: Italy

Estimated annual revenue: $16M

Website: https://graziamagazine.com/