ELLE

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/