''Lui'' (; ) is a French adult-entertainment

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

created in November 1963 by

Daniel Filipacchi Daniel Filipacchi (born 12 January 1928) is the Chairman Emeritus of Hachette Filipacchi Médias and a French collector of surrealist art. Career Filipacchi wrote and worked as a photographer for '' Paris Match'' from its founding in 1949 b ...

, a fashion photographer turned publisher,

Jacques Lanzmann Jacques Lanzmann (4 May 1927 – 21 June 2006) was a French journalist, writer and lyricist. He is best known as a novelist and for his songwriting partnership with Jacques Dutronc. Early life Lanzmann spent the early part of his life in Auv ...

, a

jack of all trades "Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person who has dabbled in many skills, rather than gaining expertise by focusing on only one. The original version, "a jack of all trades", is often used as a com ...

turned

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, and

Frank Ténot Frank Ténot (31 October 1925 – 8 January 2004) was a French press agent, pataphysician, and jazz critic. He managed a number of publications over the course of his long association with Daniel Filipacchi, a publisher of multiple magazines who ...

, a press agent, pataphysician and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

critic. The objective was to bring some charm "à la française" to the market of

men's magazine This is a list of men's magazines from around the world. These are magazines (periodical print publications) that have been published primarily for a readership of men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audienc ...

s, following the success of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' in the United States, launched just a decade before. France, indeed, in the first half of 20th century had an outstanding reputation for erotic publications, feeding also foreign market and inspiring also ersatz French-flavoured magazines abroad, when, for example, US publishers used French-sounding titles like ''Chère'' and ''Dreamé'' or placed tricolour flags on the covers, attempting to attract the casual buyer. It was anyway a semi-clandestine circulating material, not allowed to be freely displayed or openly bought. In this sense ''Playboy'' changed the way ' soft pornography' (become more respectfully 'adult entertainment'), can be publicly circulated. This magazine was particularly successful from its origins to the early 1980s, but afterwards it began a long decline. It was published regularly until November 1987 (the final issue of this first series was the number 285). After 1987 there was a further attempt to relaunch the title but the publication ceased again in 1994. Passed into the hands of the media group of Michel Birnbaum, after a transient stimulus, it became a

pornographic magazine Pornographic magazines or erotic magazines, sometimes known as adult magazines or sex magazines, are magazines that contain content of an explicitly sexual nature. Publications of this kind may contain images of attractive naked subjects, as is ...

with episodic dissemination. It was published every three months. After the purchase of the title by Jean-Yves Le Fur, ''Lui'' was relaunched on 5 September 2013 as a high-end magazine with

Frédéric Beigbeder Frédéric Beigbeder (; born 21 September 1965) is a French writer, literary critic and television presenter. He won the Prix Interallié in 2003 for his novel '' Windows on the World'' and the Prix Renaudot in 2009 for his book '' A French Nov ...

at its helm.

''Lui'' published by Filipacchi group (1963–1994)

First series (1963–1987)

This magazine successful recipe was combining content with depth articles and beautiful naked women, featuring many B-List but also celebrities, often prominent French actresses, such as

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...

Mireille Darc Mireille Darc (; 15 May 1938 – 28 August 2017) was a French model and actress. She appeared as a lead character in Jean-Luc Godard's 1967 film ''Weekend''. Darc was a Knight of the Legion of Honour and Commander of the National Order of Meri ...

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin ( ; 14 December 1946 – 16 July 2023) was a British and French actress, singer, and designer. She had a prolific career as an actress, mostly in French cinema. A native of London, Birkin began her career as an actress, ...

Marlène Jobert Marlène Jobert (born 4 November 1940) is a French actress and author. Life and career Jobert was born in Algiers, French Algeria, to Charles Jobert, born in Dijon, Côte-d’Or, who served in the French Air Force, and his wife, Jewish Éliane ...

. It featured a monthly pin-up by

Aslan Aslan () is a major character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. Unlike any other character in the Narnian series, Aslan appears in all seven chronicles. Aslan is depicted as a Talking animals in fiction, talking lion and is ...

. The first girl to pose on the cover was Valérie Lagrange (the number 1 appeared on 11 January 1963) photographed by

Francis Giacobetti Francis Giacobetti (1 July 1939 – 8 June 2025) was a French photographer and film director. Biography Born in Marseille on 1 July 1939, Giacobetti studied at the College of Juilly. At the age of 18, he discovered photography and was hired as a ...

, future director of the soft-core movie ''

Emmanuelle 2 ''Emmanuelle 2'' (, released as ''Emmanuelle, The Joys of a Woman'' in the US) is a 1975 French softcore erotica film directed by Francis Giacobetti and starring Sylvia Kristel. The screenplay was written by Bob Elia and Francis Giacobetti. It ...

''. The magazine hosted also a cartoon by Lauzier: ''Les Sextraordinaires Aventures de Zizi et Peter Panpan''. Among the first collaborators are Jean-Louis Bory, René Chateau, Philippe Labro, Francis Dumoulin, Francis Giacobetti, Siné, Michel Mardore, Gilles Sandier and many others. The magazine motto was ''Lui, le magazine de l'homme moderne'' (The Magazine of the Modern Man). In the beginning, it had also a mascot, a cat's head, similarly to the magazine

Playboy Bunny A Playboy Bunny is a cocktail waitress who works at a Playboy Club and selected through standardized training. Their costumes were made up of lingerie, inspired by the tuxedo-wearing Playboy rabbit mascot. This costume consisted of a straples ...

, but it disappeared in the early 1970s.

Second series (1987–1994)

The second series was published by the Filipacchi group from 1987 to 1994. It has been published 69 numbers. Its editor was Stéphane de Rosnay in 1989, Brice Couturier 1990 to 1992. Initially, its specificity (compared to the first series) was that it was published in a two separate books, but from number 27, "Lui" returned to be a single book magazine with the new slogan "Le magazine de l'homme civilisé" (The Magazine of civilized man). The circulation that was in early 1980 of 350,000 copies dropped to 70,000 copies in 1993. In early 1993, the magazine abandoned the monthly release and became bimonthly. The Filipacchi group stopped publication in June 1994.

''Lui'' published by Michel Birnbaum (1995–2010)

''Le Nouveau Lui'' (1995–1997)

The title was used again from 1995 to 1997 (14 issues) and named ''Le Nouveau Lui'' by Michel Birnbaum, a radiotherapist physician turned publisher as founder and owner of the holding company Altinea, specializing in magazines about

vintage car A vintage car is, in the most general sense, an old automobile, and in the narrower senses of car enthusiasts and collectors, it is a car from the period of 1919 to 1930, Either a "survivor" or one that has been fixed up according to the or ...

s.Place au «Lui» new-look. Le «magazine de l'homme moderne» va reparaître
– ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

'' – 21 September 1995 – Philippe Bonnet The goal was to return to the roots (and success) of the original publication, intending a more glamour-oriented publication. The coverage of the first issue was dedicated to Miss Agnes. The magazine was again released as a monthly issue and the design of the title was upgraded. For the first time, the cover picture was devoted to one man alone, without an accompanying female model. This attempt to revive the magazine failed, with the final issue published in February 1997 with

Eva Herzigová Eva Herzigová (; born 10 March 1973) is a Czech model and actress. Her career took a major turn in 1994 when she became the face of the Wonderbra campaign. The famous "Hello Boys" ad became iconic and contributed to her worldwide popularity. He ...

as the cover girl.

''Lui'' pornographic magazine (2001–2010)

The magazine published quarterly from 2001 to 2010 had a pornographic nature. Its slogan was "L'officiel de la photo de charme" or (as on the online edition) "Le charme des filles d'aujourd hui." It was published by the company 1633, whose president and sole shareholder was Michel Birnbaum. Patrick Guérinet was the managing editor until July 2010, when he was succeeded by Francis Guillebon.

''Lui'' published by Jean-Yves Le Fur (2013–2020)

The magazine was relaunched in 2013 with

Léa Seydoux Léa Hélène Seydoux-Fornier de Clausonne (; born 1 July 1985) is a French actress. Prolific in both French cinema and Cinema of the United States, Hollywood, she has received five César Award nominations, two Lumière Awards, a Palme d'Or a ...

as its first cover girl. Its editor-in-chief was Frédéric Beigbeder. In March 2017, the magazine went from monthly to quarterly and

Frédéric Taddeï Frédéric Taddeï (born 5 January 1961) is a French journalist and television and radio host. Taddeï grew up in Boulogne-Billancourt, a Parisian suburb. From 1997 to 2006, he hosted the late night programme ''Paris Dernière'' broadcast on th ...

succeeded Frédéric Beigbeder as its editor-in-chief.Arbrun, Clément (11 March 2017
"Frédéric Taddei prend la tête du magazine Lui: Ce qui est érotique, c'est le réel!"
''Les Inrockuptiles'' (in French). Retrieved 12 September 2020. Covergirls since the first issue have (as of January 2016) included

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

, Gisele Bundchen,

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...

Monica Bellucci Monica Anna Maria Bellucci (; born 30 September 1964) is an Italian actress and model who began her career as a fashion model before working in Italian, American, and French films. She has an eclectic filmography in a range of genres and langua ...

Alessandra Ambrosio Alessandra Corine Ambrósio (; born 11 April 1981) is a Brazilian model. She is known for her work with Victoria's Secret and was chosen as the first spokesmodel for the company's Pink (Victoria's Secret), PINK line. She was a Victoria's Secret A ...

Virginie Ledoyen Virginie Fernández (born 15 November 1976), known by her stage name Virginie Ledoyen (), is a French actress. She has appeared in French, English and American films. Life and career Ledoyen was born in Paris and raised in Aubervilliers, the da ...

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is a British supermodel. Beginning her career at the age of eight, Campbell was one of six models of her generation declared supermodels by the fashion industry and the international press. She was th ...

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is an English model. Arriving towards 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 t ...

Jourdan Dunn Jourdan Sherise Dunn (born 3 August 1990) is a British model. She was discovered in Hammersmith Primark in 2006 and signed to The Squad Management in London. She began appearing on international runways in early 2007. In February 2008, she was ...

Carolyn Murphy Carolyn Murphy (born August 11, 1974) is an American model. Career In 1998, Murphy was named VH1/''Vogue''s Model of the Year. She played Dubbie in Barry Levinson's film ''Liberty Heights''. She was one of the 'Modern Muses' on the November 1999 ...

Joan Smalls Joan Smalls Rodriguez (born July 11, 1988) is a Puerto Rican model and television personality. In 2011, she became the first Latinas, Latina model to represent Estee Lauder Companies, Estée Lauder cosmetics. In 2013, she entered ''Forbes'' maga ...

, and others. With the exception of Bellucci who appeared semi-clothed, all have appeared topless or fully naked inside their issues.

National editions

* French edition (1963–2020) * German edition (1977–1992) * Italian edition (1970–1986?) * Spanish edition (1977–1978?) * Brazilian edition (1976–?) * American edition (1972–2007) as '' Oui''

Notes and references

External links

* {{webarchive , url=https://archive.today/20131023223746/http://www.luimagazine.fr/ , date=23 October 2013 1963 establishments in France French-language magazines Men's magazines published in France Magazines established in 1963 Monthly magazines published in France Pornographic men's magazines