Marie Grace Mirabella (June 10, 1929 – December 23, 2021) was an American fashion journalist who was

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' magazine between 1971 and 1988. She founded ''

Mirabella ''Mirabella'' was a women's magazine published from June 1989 to April 2000. It was created by and named for Grace Mirabella, a former ''Vogue'' editor in chief, in partnership with Rupert Murdoch. It was originally published by News Corporati ...

'' magazine in 1989, and continued there until 1996.

Early life

Marie Grace Mirabella was born on June 10, 1929, in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. to parents of Italian descent. An only child, she moved to

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's populatio ...

, which she saw as a sign that "things were getting better economically" for her family, and graduated from

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

. Her father, an importer of wine and liquor, died in the 1940s; due to a gambling addiction he left debts that his wife and daughter inherited. Mirabella graduated from

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in one of more than 60 areas of study. History Sk ...

in 1950, majoring in economics, and went into fashion after seeing the opportunity for women to advance in their careers.

Career

Mirabella began her career by working in a family friend's sportswear shop. After college, she held several junior positions in retail, including at

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

as an executive trainee and

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street and ...

as an assistant to the sales promotion manager. In 1952, Mirabella was hired as an assistant at ''

''. During most of the 1960s, she was the magazine's associate editor-in-chief under

Diana Vreeland Diana Vreeland (September 29, 1903 – August 22, 1989) was a French-American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' and as editor-in-chief at ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', later becoming a special c ...

. In 1971, she was appointed editor-in-chief and brought in a more casual feel that contrasted with the way the magazine had been defined in its earlier years. Under Mirabella, more articles were aimed towards "The Modern Woman". Her obituary in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' describes her as a "no-nonsense champion of practical fashion". According to her successor as editor-in-chief,

Anna Wintour Dame Anna Wintour (; born 3 November 1949) is a British journalist based in New York City who has served as editor-in-Chief of ''Vogue'' since 1988 and Global Chief Content Officer for Condé Nast since 2020; she is also the artistic directo ...

, "She eschewed fantasy and escapism in favor of a style that was chicly minimalist and which spoke clearly and directly to the newly liberated ways we wanted to live." Due to the economic recession in the United States in the 1970s, Mirabella used more editorials that addressed affordable yet stylish clothing for women. She was noted for bringing in and showcasing designs from

Halston Roy Halston Frowick (April 23, 1932 – March 26, 1990), known mononymously as Halston, was an American fashion designer who rose to international fame in the 1970s. His minimalist, clean designs, often made of cashmere or ultrasuede, were ...

, Saint Laurent,

Geoffrey Beene Geoffrey Beene (born Samuel Albert Bozeman Jr.; August 30, 1924 – September 28, 2004) was an American fashion designer. Beene was one of New York's most famous fashion designers, recognized for his artistic and technical skills and for creati ...

, and

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...

. Fashion photographer

Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...

published several notable editorials in the magazine from 1971 to the end of Mirabella's leadership.

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

photographed most of the covers and other photographers, such as

Patrick Demarchelier Patrick Demarchelier (; 21 August 1943 – 31 March 2022) was a French fashion photographer. Early life and education Born near Paris in 1943 to a modest family, Demarchelier spent his childhood in Le Havre, Normandy, with his mother and four ...

, Arthur Elgort, Albert Watson,

Denis Piel Denis Piel is a French photographer and film-maker. He was born in France in 1944. He was raised in Australia and educated in the United States. He lives in the south-west of France. He worked as a fashion photographer in the 1980s; from 1979 h ...

, and

Chris von Wangenheim Christoph von Wangenheim (21 February 1942 – 9 March 1981) was a German fashion photographer of the late 1960s through the early 1980s. Biography Wangenheim was born in Brieg, during the Second World War, the son of Konrad Freiherr von Wa ...

published several examples of their early work in her editions. During her tenure as editor-in-chief at ''Vogue'', advertising revenue increased to $79.5 million, compared with $39 million for ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

,'' and the magazine's circulation grew from 400,000 to 1.2 million. In the 1980s, Mirabella began to be considered "out of step with the times"; she later wrote that "The 1980s just were not my era. I couldn’t stand the frills and the glitz and the 40,000-dollar ball gowns." In 1988,

Conde Nast Conde may refer to: Places United States * Conde, South Dakota, a city France * Condé-sur-l'Escaut (or simply 'Condé'), a commune Linguistic ''Conde'' is the Ibero-Romance form of "count" (Latin ''comitatus''). It may refer to: * Count ...

owner

Si Newhouse Samuel Irving "S.I." Newhouse Jr. (November 8, 1927 – October 1, 2017) was an American heir to a substantial magazine and media business. Together with his brother Donald, he owned Advance Publications, founded by their late father in 1922, wh ...

replaced Mirabella with Anna Wintour. According to Newhouse's biographer Carol Felsenthal, nobody informed Mirabella about her firing—she found out about it through the news. In 1989, Mirabella launched her own magazine, ''

'', with the financial backing of

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

. ''Mirabella'' was targeted at women in their 30s and 40s, with a focus on lifestyle advice and casual wear. Cover and editorial models were typically lesser-known and had more average proportions than those featured in ''Vogue''. ''Mirabella'' had 400,000 readers at its start—its reputation boosted by Mirabella's own pedigree as former editor at ''Vogue''. By 1993, Mirabella's influence as founder waned, and she left in 1996. After declines in readership and revenue. ''Mirabella'' folded in 2000. In later years, Mirabella wrote a style column for New York-based ''Quest'' magazine, and launched the online magazine ''The Aesthete.'' She also wrote a book about Tiffany & Co. that was published in 1997.

Personal life

Mirabella married Dr. William G. Cahan in November 1974. Her autobiography, ''In and Out of Vogue'', describes her relationships with people that she worked with at the magazine, including

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

, Jessica Daves, and

. She died on December 23, 2021, at the age of 92, at her home in Manhattan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mirabella, Grace 1929 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American journalists American magazine editors Women magazine editors Vogue (magazine) editors American writers of Italian descent Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni Writers from Newark, New Jersey People from Maplewood, New Jersey Skidmore College alumni American magazine founders