Elle (magazine)

''Elle'' (stylized in all caps) is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, and society and lifestyle. The title ''Elle'' means ''She'' in English. ''Elle'' is considered "one of the world's largest fashion and lifestyle publications", with 45 international editions totalling 33 million readers and receiving 100 million unique monthly visitors on its 55 digital platforms.

It was founded in Paris in 1945 by Hélène Gordon-Lazareff. The magazine's readership has grown since its founding, increasing to 800,000 across France by the 1960s. ''Elle'' editions have since multiplied, creating a global network of publications and readers. ''Elle''s international expansion began with ''Elle UK'' and ''Elle USA'' launches in 1985. Previous magazine editors include Jean-Dominique Bauby for ''Elle France'' and Roberta Myers, the longest-serving editor-in-chief at ''Elle USA''. Véronique Philipponnat is currently the director of ''Elle France''. Nina Garcia currently holds the position of editor-in-chief at ''Elle USA'', appointed after the departure of Roberta Myers. The Paris-based Lagardère Group owns the brand internationally. ''Elle France''s official headquarters is located in Levallois-Perret, Greater Paris.

History

Hélène Gordon-Lazareff, Russian-born and Paris-raised, started ''Elle'' in Paris in the immediate aftermath of World War II. It was first sold as a supplement to '' France-Soir'', edited at the time by Hélène's husband, Pierre Lazareff. Hélène, ''Elle''s pioneering founder, returned to Paris from New York City to create a unique publication that grappled with the many forces shaping women's lives in France in 1945. Women won the right to vote in 1944, and ''Elle'' dove immediately into long-form "newspaper-like" features on women's role in national politics and the growing feminist movement. ''Elle'' would "celebrate a new type of woman: independent, modern, active, comfortable in her own skin and her time". The first issue of ''Elle France'' was published on 21 November 1945 featuring Yolande Bloin on the cover dressed by Elsa Schiaparelli. Bloin was an actress in Jacques Becker's film . The magazine had a circulation of 110,000 copies in 1945.

In the ''Elle'' articles featuring rising fashion designers, the magazine would provide free patterns of some of their fashion pieces. This allowed the general public to experience haute couture as the glamour of the fashion world was becoming accessible to the common working class.

Its 100th issue, published on 14 October 1947, featured the work of Christian Dior just eight months after his debut show. Likewise, Brigitte Bardot had her first ''Elle'' cover at age 17, on 7 January 1952, months before her screen debut in '' Manina, the Girl in the Bikini''.

On 2 April 1956, Grace Kelly appeared on the cover of ''Elle France'', a few days before her marriage to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. On 16 July 1956, ''Elle France'' featured Marilyn Monroe on the cover.

By the 1960s, ''Elle'' had a readership of 800,000 across France and was said to "not so much reflect fashion as decree it." This dominance was reflected in the famous slogan: " (If she reads, she reads Elle)" ( "If she reads she reads ''She''").

Lagardère Group subsidiary, Hachette Filipacchi Médias began pushing ''Elle'' outside of France in 1985, launching ''Elle'' in the UK and the United States. The Chinese version of the magazine was first published in 1988. It was the first four-colour fashion magazine offered in China. The magazine was an informational and educational tool for opening the Chinese textile market.

In 1987, ''Elle Decoration'' was launched in France by the Lagardère Group. The brand's internationalisation began in the US with the launch of ''Elle Decor'' in 1989.

By 1991, the magazine's sales were in decline in the U.S.

In 1995, the magazine circulated 5 million copies worldwide.

Elle.com was launched in 2007.

In 2011, Hearst Corporation reached a €651M deal with Lagardère to purchase the rights to publish ''Elle'' Magazine in fifteen countries including the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Russia and Ukraine. Lagardère, which struggled in the international market in the 2000s, retained the rights to the French edition and would collect royalties from the international editions. By retaining ownership of the ''Elle'' brand in France and through licensing forms in 25 countries, Lagardère remained "the guarantor of brand consistency". The strategic decisions on ''Elle'' concerning the countries managed by Hearst would be "taken in close consultation" with Lagardère.

''Elle Brazil'' was the first commercial magazine in the world to have a transgender model on its cover, with Lea T. in December 2011. The Brazilian edition had also discovered transgender model Valentina Sampaio and had put her on the cover before French Vogue. ''Elle'' printed special collectors' covers for their September 2016 issue, and one featured Hari Nef, the first time an openly transgender woman had been on the cover of a major commercial British magazine.

In April 2018, Lagardère Group sold ''Elle France'' to Daniel Křetínský via his holding company Czech Media Invest (CMI), parent of Czech News Center. Lagardère continues to own the ''Elle'' brand in France and internationally by granting a "license for the exploitation of magazines".

At the end of 2021, ''Elle'' announced that all global editions would ban fur from their pages as of 1 January 2023, citing "a really great opportunity to increase awareness for animal welfare, bolster the demand for sustainable and innovative alternatives and foster a more humane fashion industry."

Notable editors-in-chief

''Elle'' editors have included Jean-Dominique Bauby in France, who became known for writing a book after suffering almost total paralysis, and Robbie Myers for the USA edition. In September 2017, it was announced that Roberta Myers was stepping down from the role of editor-in-chief of ''Elle USA'', position she held since 2000, stating through a memo to the staff that "I want to spend the next seasons as available to my children as I can be, and so I take my leave of Elle now". A day later of the announcement, it was reported that Nina Garcia, creative director of ''Marie Claire'' was appointed as the new editor-in-chief effective 18 September. Patricia Wang was the first editor of ''Elle China''. is the current director of ''Elle France''.

Circulation (''Elle France'')

Global operations

As of 2019, seventy-eight media licenses from the brand are available around the world: one ''Elle Girl'', two ''Elle Men'', five , twenty-five ''Elle Decoration'', and forty-five ''Elle''. According to François Coruzzi, CEO of ''Elle International'', the magazine's centrals are located in Paris, London, and New York, and it has 29 offices worldwide as of 2019.

Technologically speaking, the ''Elle'' brand is a global network encompassing over 46 websites. Subscriptions account for 73 percent of readers in the USA. Websites and social networks compose ''Elle''s 55 digital platforms.

The first international editions of ''Elle'' were launched in the U.S. and UK in 1985. In the US, the vast majority (82 per cent) of ''Elle''s audience is women between 18 and 49. Its readers have a median age of 34.7 years. 40 percent of the readers are single, and the median household income is $69,973. "Our readers are young enough to think about life as an adventure and old enough to have the means to live it", said Roberta Myers, editor in chief.

Spain followed in 1986 with Italy and Hong Kong editions launching in 1987. In 1988, the magazine was launched in Germany, Brazil, China, Sweden, Greece and Portugal. The next year, the Netherlands and Quebec joined the international ''Elle'' community. Australia and Taiwan versions were launched in 1990, Mexico and Argentina in 1994, and a Russian edition (closed now), published monthly, was launched in 1996.

''Elle'' includes region-specific editions within countries, such as ''Elle Hong Kong'' and ''Elle Québec'', which are published in addition to ''Elle China'' and ''Elle Canada'' respectively. In Belgium, ''Elle'' is published as two magazines for the Flanders and Wallonia regions, while ''Elle Middle East'' is targeted at several countries in the region.

''Elle'' is a brand owned by the Lagardère Group of France. It is published in France by Czech Media Invest, in the U.S. and the UK by Hearst Magazines, in Canada by KO Média, in Brazil by Grupo Editora Abril, in Mexico by Grupo Expansión, in Argentina by Grupo Clarín, in Indonesia by Mayapada, in Singapore by Atlas Press, in Serbia/Croatia by Adria Media, in Turkey by Doğan Burda Magazine, in Germany by Hubert Burda Media, and in Romania by Ringier. In China, the publisher is Shanghai Translation Publishing House. In India, it is published by Ogaan Publications Pvt. Ltd. As an international magazine, ''Elle'' has its headquarters in Paris as well as licensed publishers in New York City, London, Toronto, Mexico City, South Africa, Istanbul, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brussels, Lisbon, Tokyo, Warsaw, Belgrade, Oslo, Helsinki, Bucharest, Athens, Delhi, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Jakarta, Kyiv, Kuala Lumpur, Sofia, Budapest, Bangkok and other cities.

In December 2013, ''Elle US'' hired Randy Minor as design director. In November 2016, ''Elle Canada'' promoted Vanessa Craft to editor-in-chief, making her the first black woman at the helm of an ''Elle'' magazine globally.

In mid-July 2020, ''Elle'' Australian publisher Bauer Media Australia and New Zealand, which had been acquired by Mercury Capital, terminated the magazine's Australian edition, citing declining advertising revenue and travel restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2021, ''Elle'' is being published by Are Media, the successor to Bauer Media Australia.

Editors

* Véronique Philipponnat (France)
* Nina Garcia (US)
* Kenya Hunt (UK)
* Winnie Wan (HK)
* Grace O’Neill (Australia)
* Arlette Barrionuevo & Gabriela Silvestre (Argentina)
* Kamna Malik ( India)
* Xiao Xue (China)
* Melda Narmanlı Çimen (Turkey)
* Joanna Fox (Canada)
* Joanna Fox (Quebec)
* Caroline Suganda (Singapore)
* Kullawit Laosuksri (Thailand)
* Cecilie Ingdal (Denmark)
* Sonya Zabouga (Ukraine)
* Barbara Sekirnik (Slovenia)
* Ruben William Steven (Indonesia)
* Dariya Nogayeva (Kazakhstan)
* Ana Ostojic (Serbia)
* Pam Hothi (South Africa)
* Lien Chi Nguyen (Vietnam)
* Roxana Voloseniuc (Romania)
* Nambi Kezic (Croatia)
* Benedetta Poletti (Spain)
* Marta Drożdż (Poland)
* Maria Georgieva (Bulgaria)
* Susana Barbosa (Brazil)
* Thea Kučerová (Czech Republic)
* Danda Santini (Italy)
* Julia Juyeon Kang (Korea)
* Kate Guest (Malaysia) – not in charge as of 2022
* Sabine Nedelchev (Germany)
* Kanako Sakai (Japan – Digital EIC)
* Maria Patoucha (Greece)
* Signy Fardal (Norway)
* Florence Lu (Taiwan)
* Dina Spahi (Arabia)
* Nada Kabbani (Arabia – Digital EIC)
* Claudia Cándano (Mexico)
* Cia Jansson (Sweden)
* Marie Guérin (Belgium)
* Anke de Jong (Netherlands)

Other markets

In the 1980s, ''Elle'' signed an agreement with the Japanese Itokin, a group based in Osaka specialising in ready-to-wear. ''Elle'' has been selling its lingerie in Japan for over forty years through licensing agreements. ''Elle'' has over 150 partners in 80 countries, all paying royalties to the brand. ''Elle'' has more than 3,000 stores worldwide, mainly in Asia. Under the ''Elle'' brand, there are around ten , hair salons and spas. The brand also sells fashion, beauty and home decor products.

Nissan and ''Elle'' collaborated and unveiled the Nissan Micra Elle in September 2012, a limited-edition car specially designed for women.

The brand has also been launched in the hospitality industry. In 2023, the fashion magazine opened its first hotel, Maison Elle, on the 17th of Paris. Other Elle Hotel projects have been announced for Mexico and around fifteen high-end hotels in the heart of cities that would open in the next ten years.

See also

* List of fashion magazines
* List of women's magazines
* Didier Guérin, executive in charge of new releases
* :Elle (magazine) writers

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elle (magazine)
1945 establishments in France
Are Media

Hearst Communications publications
Lagardère Active
Magazines published in Paris
Magazines established in 1945
Monthly magazines published in France
Multilingual magazines
Weekly magazines published in France
Women's magazines published in France
Women's fashion magazines
Magazines published in Thailand