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''W'' is an American
fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
that features stories about style through the lens of culture, fashion, art, celebrity, and film. W was created in 1972 by James Brady, the publisher of sister magazine ''
Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides inf ...
'' (''WWD''), originally as a biweekly newspaper spin-off from ''WWD. In 1993, W'' was launched as an oversized fashion magazine, issued monthly. In 2000,
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 ...
purchased ''W'' from the original owner,
Fairchild Publications Fairchild Media is a publisher of fashion trade magazines, websites, and conferences for the fashion, retail and beauty industries. Fairchild Media brands include ''Women’s Wear Daily'', ''Footwear News'' (FN), ''Beauty Inc'', ''M'' and ''Fairch ...
. The magazine was still presented in an oversized format – 10 inches wide and 13 inches tall.
Sara Moonves Sara Moonves is an American magazine editor. She was promoted to editor in chief of '' W,'' a fashion magazine, in 2019. Her appointment stirred vigorous scrutiny and discussion, with ''The New York Times'' article about her being entitled ''"Th ...
was editor-in-chief when the final print issue was published in March 2020. ''W'' was relaunched as an online fashion magazine. ''W'' had a reader base of nearly half a million, 469,000 of which are annual subscribers.


Publication history


Early years, 1972–1999

Originally a biweekly newspaper that was spun off from ''Women's Wear Daily'', ''W'' became an oversized monthly magazine published by
Fairchild Fashion Media Fairchild Media is a publisher of fashion trade magazines, websites, and conferences for the fashion, retail and beauty industries. Fairchild Media brands include ''Women’s Wear Daily'', '' Footwear News'' (FN), ''Beauty Inc'', ''M'' and ''Fairc ...
in 1993. When Fairchilds' owner –
Capital Cities/ABC Capital Cities/ABC Inc. was an American media company. It was founded in 1985 when Capital Cities Communications purchased the much larger American Broadcasting Company. It eventually proposed a merger of equals with The Walt Disney Company and ...
– merged with
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
in 1997, ''W'' was one of the publications the new company continued with.


Condé Nast, 1999–2019

In 1999,
Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The company's media ...
bought ''W'' from the Walt Disney Company, as the centerpiece of a $650 million deal that also included ''WWD'', ''
Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...
'' and a number of other retail trade titles. Often the subject of controversy, ''W'' subsequently featured stories and covers which have provoked mixed responses from its intended audience; most of ''W''s most memorable covers are featured on the ''W'' Classics page on the magazine's website. In July 2005, ''W'' produced a 60-page Steven Klein portfolio of
Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
and
Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
entitled "Domestic Bliss". The shoot was based upon Pitt's idea of the
irony Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...
of the perfect American family; set in 1963, the photographs mirror the era when 1960s disillusionment was boiling under the facade of pristine 1950s suburbia. Other controversial cover shoots include
Steven Meisel Steven Meisel (born June 5, 1954) is an American fashion photographer, who obtained popularity and critical acclaim with his work in ''Vogue'' and ''Vogue Italia'' as well as his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book, ''Sex''. He is n ...
's entitled " Asexual Revolution", in which male and female models (including
Jessica Stam Jessica Elizabeth Stam (born 23 April 1986) is a Canadian model. She is considered to be part of the crop of models described as "doll faces". In 2007, ''Forbes'' named her fifteenth in the list of the World's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels, earning ...
and
Karen Elson Karen Jill Elson (born 15 January 1979) is an English model and singer-songwriter. Early life and education Elson was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and attended North Chadderton School as a child. She has a fraternal twin sister, filmma ...
) are depicted in gender-bending styles and provocative poses. In addition,
Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and direct ...
's racy shoot with Klein and the accompanying article on sexuality in fashion came as a shock to some loyal readers. During the interview, Ford is quoted as saying: "I've always been about pansexuality. Whether I'm sleeping with girls or not at this point in my life, the clothes have often been
androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics i ...
, which is very much my standard of
beauty Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...
". Klein was also the photographer for the racy photo shoot featured in the August 2007 issue, showcasing
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and
Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spice. Wi ...
. Bruce Weber produced a 60-page tribute to
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
in the April 2008 issue, and shot a 36-page story on the newest fashion designers in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
for the July 2008 issue. ''W'' also became well known for covering high class Western and Asian societies. Many of these society luminaries, as well as the elite of the entertainment and fashion industries, have allowed ''W'' into their homes for the magazine's "''W'' House Tours" feature, including Marc Jacobs, Sir Evelyn Rothschild and
Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictator ...
. By 2009, ''W'' was harder hit than most fashion publications by a drop in luxury advertising, with ad pages down nearly 46 percent in one year. Longtime editor in chief Patrick McCarthy retired in 2010 when Condé Nast moved ''W'' to its consumer magazine group, along with ''
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'', ...
'', '' Glamour'' and '' Allure''.
Stefano Tonchi Stefano Tonchi (born 13 October 1959, Florence, Italy) is an Italian journalist, curator, and consultant. In March 2022, he launched Palmer, a luxury media brand, with Michael J Berman, co-founder of George magazine. He served as consulting chief ...
succeeded him as the magazine's editor in chief. In 2011,
Edward Enninful Edward Kobina Enninful (born 22 February 1972) is an English editor-in-chief of British ''Vogue'' and European editorial director of Condé Nast. He was appointed a fashion director of British fashion magazine ''i-D'' at the age of 18, a pos ...
was tapped to take the magazine's style directorship. Under Enninful's direction, ''W'' generated considerable attention for its riskier editorial, including the March 2012 cover shot by Steven Klein featuring
Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...
depicted as a nun as well as another cover featuring singer
Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...
dolled up as an 18th-century French courtesan. For the magazine's November 2011 art issue, Enninful collaborated with Steven Meisel on a series of fake advertisements that ran throughout the magazine, including one that featured RuPaul's ''Drag Race'' Season 3 contestant Carmen Carrera hawking a fictitious fragrance called La Femme. In 2011, ''W'' participated in a four-episode plot line on the fourth season of CW teen drama
Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...
. Over the years, the magazine cut back its print editions from monthly in 2013 to eight times in 2018.


Future Media, 2019–2020

In 2018, ''W'' became one of three publications Condé Nast put up for sale in the face of significant financial losses that forced it to adopt a series of cost-cutting measures. By 2019, it was acquired by Future Media, in a deal the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' estimated at $7 million. In June 2019, Moonves was named as its first-ever female editor-in-chief, succeeding
Stefano Tonchi Stefano Tonchi (born 13 October 1959, Florence, Italy) is an Italian journalist, curator, and consultant. In March 2022, he launched Palmer, a luxury media brand, with Michael J Berman, co-founder of George magazine. He served as consulting chief ...
. Under Moonves's editorship, the magazine underwent a major transition. By 2020, she announced to staff that many were being furloughed and that those who work on online content would be staying on at reduced salaries. The new ''W'' team finished the biggest Best Performances issue ever. In the first week of January 2020, ''W'' launched nine covers, a 76-page celebrity portfolio covering 29 celebrities and 20 videos. Additionally, the magazine launched a series of new initiatives and dramatically expanded its digital footprint. They launched ''W''’s first
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
, ''5 Things with
Lynn Hirschberg Lynn Hirschberg is an American journalist who has written for ''Rolling Stone'', ''Vanity Fair'', and ''The New York Times''. Since 2008, she has been the interviewer of the online video series ''Lynn Hirschberg's Screen Tests'' where she intervi ...
'', which attracted a broad listener base and included guests like
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
, Charlize Theron,
Saoirse Ronan Saoirse Una Ronan ( , ; born 12 April 1994) is an American-born Irish actress. Primarily known for her work in period dramas since adolescence, she has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations fo ...
,
Greta Gerwig Greta Celeste Gerwig (; born August 4, 1983) is an American actress, screenwriter, and director. She first garnered attention after working on and appearing in several mumblecore films. Between 2006 and 2009, she appeared in a number of films b ...
,
Noah Baumbach Noah Baumbach () (born September 3, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is known for making witty and intellectual comedies set in New York City and has often been compared to writer-directors such as Woody Allen and Whit Sti ...
,
Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...
,
Awkwafina Nora Lum (born June 2, 1988), known professionally as Awkwafina, is an American actress, rapper, and comedian who rose to prominence in 2012 when her rap song "My Vag" became popular on YouTube. She then released her debut album, ''Yellow Ra ...
, and
Margot Robbie Margot Elise Robbie (; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. Known for her work in both blockbuster and independent films, she has received several accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Golden Glob ...
as a part of the new vision for the brand.


W Media, 2020–present

On August 14, 2020, ''W'' was acquired by
Bustle Digital Group ''Bustle'' is an online American women's magazine founded in August 2013 by Bryan Goldberg. It positions news and politics alongside articles about beauty, celebrities, and fashion trends. By September 2016, the website had 50 million monthly rea ...
, Mic, and W Media, a newly formed joint venture led by
Karlie Kloss Karlie Elizabeth Kloss (born August 3, 1992) is an American fashion model. ''Vogue Paris'' declared her one of the "top 30 models of the 2000s" when she was 17. Kloss was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2013 until 2015; she resigned to study at ...
and including Aryeh Bourkoff,
Jason Blum Jason Ferus Blum "Jason Ferus Blum was born in LA in 1969 to Shirley Neilsen, an art professor, and Irving Blum, an art dealer" (; born 1969) is an American film and television producer. He is the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, whic ...
,
Kaia Gerber Kaia Jordan Gerber (born September 3, 2001) is an American model and actress. She is the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber. After starring in a series of ad campaigns for fashion brands since debuting at Fashi ...
, Kirsten Green and
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
.Todd Spangler (14 August 2020)
Karlie Kloss Leads Buyout of W Magazine, With Jason Blum Among New Owners
''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''.
They retained Moonves as editor-in-chief.


International editions

An international edition was previously published in Japan. The
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n edition was launched in 2005 and is published under license by ''Doosan Magazine''.


See also

* List of ''W'' cover models * List of ''W Korea'' cover models


References


External links


Official website
* {{Advance Publications Condé Nast magazines Defunct women's magazines published in the United States Fashion magazines published in the United States Magazines disestablished in 2020 Magazines established in 1971 Magazines published in New York City Monthly magazines published in the United States Online magazines published in the United States Online magazines with defunct print editions Women's fashion magazines