Fashion Magazine Research- ELLE

 Elle magazine was founded in France in 1945 by Helene Lazareff, inspired by her time in New York after World War II. It was the first magazine of its time to take women’s convictions into account, with Lazareff announcing “fashion must take to the streets”. Her aim was to raise key issues among women and give them a sense of equality. Today, it is the world’s largest fashion magazine with 43 international editions in over 60 Countries. The first international edition of Elle was launched in Japan in 1969. US and UK editions followed in 1985. According to an Elle Overview survey, the median age of Elle readers is 34.7 years and 40% are single. Editor in chief, Robbie Myers declared “our readers are young enough to think about life as an adventure and old enough to have mans to live it”.  Elle has since released magazines for teen girls, men and even home decor.

First issue of Elle 1945

The first issue of Elle magazine stood out from other magazines at the time, not only for its emphasis on feminist demands in society but because of it’s in depth news content and fashion input. Lazareff also lightened the images and texts for a more colourful and glamorous essence. The lighter and brighter images can be seen in the image above. 

Elle magazine still embodies the empowerment of women in its recent issues. When comparing the covers shown above, the women featured on the covers look very strong and also feature masculine elements- Canada’s issue features Katie Holmes wearing a shirt and trousers, Russia’s issue features a model in sportswear and the UK cover depicts Rosie Huntington- Whiteley in masculine shaped coat that sits on her shoulders. Although the January edition of Elle UK depicts Kim Kardashian in hot pants, she is not posing in a classic sexual way for the Confidence Issue. I believe the idea behind this cover is for women to flaunt their curves in response to most January issues of women’s magazines focusing on losing weight after Christmas. 

When looking through a recent issue of Elle UK, I found that the articles and imagery appealed to me more than I thought they would after discovering the median reader age is 34.7. Although Rosie Huntington-Whiteley does appeal to the median age audience through her co operation with Marks and Spencer, she is only two years older than myself and is a Victoria's Secret model. The articles featured regarded making quick and easy meals, detoxing diets and everything the reader needs to know about 50 shades of grey. Although I do believe Elle is suitable for women in their twenties, I think the magazines editors and journalists have been very clever to make the magazine appeal to a much wider audience and make it suitable for women in their twenties and fifties through their balance of lifestyle and celebrity features. 

 

Important People
Founder- Helene Gordon (1945)
Editor ELLE France- Valerie Toranian
Editor ELLE UK- Lorraine Candy
Editor ELLE US- Robbie Myers

First Issues
France 1945; Japan 1969; US/UK 1985; Italy 1987; China 1988; Thailand 1994; Serbia 2005

References.

First cover Elle- Cdn-elle.ladmedia.fr, (2015). [online] Available at: http://cdn-elle.ladmedia.fr/var/plain_site/storage/images/mode/dossiers-mode/les-plus-belles-couvertures-de-elle/couverture-elle-magazine-1945/19687650-1-fre-FR/couverture-elle-magazine-1945_reference.jpg [Accessed 17 Jan. 2015].

Feb 2015 Elle Canada- Eonline.com, (2015). [online] Available at: http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/20141124/rs_634x862-141224103603-634-Katie-Holmes-ELLE-Canada-JR-122414.jpg [Accessed 17 Jan. 2015].

Feb 2015 Elle Russia- Img3.bdbphotos.com, (2015). [online] Available at: http://img3.bdbphotos.com/images/80x80/i/m/immifvuzy2rcyr.jpg?skj2io4l [Accessed 17 Jan. 2015].

Feb 2015 Elle UK- S3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com, (2015). [online] Available at: http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/ee-elleuk/Rosie-Huntington-Whiteley-February-MAIN-cover-by_Kai_Z_Feng_BLOG-SIZE.jpg [Accessed 17 Jan. 2015].

Jan 2015 UK Elle- Media4.popsugar-assets.com, (2015). [online] Available at: http://media4.popsugar-assets.com/files/2014/11/24/869/n/1922398/dbdb26de824390ae_thumb_temp_cover_file84531514168577659sKxnf.xxxlarge/i/Kim-Kardashian-Cover-Elle-UK-January-2015.jpg [Accessed 17 Jan. 2015].

Info- InaGlobal, (2015). How ELLE magazine conquered the world. [online] Available at: http://www.inaglobal.fr/en/press/article/how-elle-magazine-conquered-world [Accessed 19 Jan. 2015].

Info- Anon, (2015). [online] Available at: http://www.ellearoundtheworld.com/ [Accessed 19 Jan. 2015].
How to be the funny girl- Polyvore.com, (2015). [online] Available at: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=10340077 [Accessed 19 Jan. 2015]