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 fash ...
magazine 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'' (''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 purchased ''W'' from the original owner, Fairchild Publications. The magazine was still presented in an oversized format – 10 inches wide and 13 inches tall. Sara Moonves 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 in 1993. When Fairchilds' owner – Capital Cities/ABC – merged with
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
in 1997, ''W'' was one of the publications the new company continued with.
Condé Nast, 1999–2019
In 1999, Condé Nast bought ''W'' from the Walt Disney Company, as the centerpiece of a $650 million deal that also included ''WWD'', '' Jane'' 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 entitled "Domestic Bliss". The shoot was based upon Pitt's idea of the irony 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's entitled " Asexual Revolution", in which male and female models (including Jessica Stam and Karen Elson) 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 dire ...
'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, 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 ...
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
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.
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'', ''
Glamour
Glamour may refer to:
Arts
Film
* ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film
* ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film
* ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film
Writing
* ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women
* ''The Glamour ...
'' and '' Allure''. Stefano Tonchi succeeded him as the magazine's editor in chief. In 2011, Edward Enninful 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 depicted as a nun as well as another cover featuring singer Nicki Minaj 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
Carmen Carrera (born April 13, 1985) is an American reality television personality, model, burlesque performer, and actress, known for appearing on the third season of the Logo reality television series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', as well as its s ...
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.
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.
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'', 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, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensemb ...
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 ...
Kirsten Green
Kirsten Green (born 1971/1972) is an American venture capitalist, the founder and managing partner of Forerunner Ventures.
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 ...
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''.