The world of fashion is constantly evolving. As we enter 2024, a new era is dawning in glossies. While longtime staples like Vogue, ELLE, and Cosmopolitan continue to dominate newsstands, a crop of fresh, boundary-pushing titles are on the rise. Read on for an in-depth look at the top fashion magazines defining the style dialogue in 2024.
Vogue
The grand dame of fashion magazines, Vogue, has been a barometer of style and glamour since 1892. As we enter the magazine’s second century in print, Vogue continues to be a tastemaker across print and digital platforms under the leadership of long-time EIC Anna Wintour.
Print Edition Still Reigns Supreme
While Vogue’s digital imprint grows by the day, the glossy print edition remains the gold standard bearer of the brand. Flipping through the iconic magazine continues to offer an immersive, sensory experience for readers––the textured pages, arresting editorials, and provocative long-form writing have made Vogue the holy grail for fashion fans worldwide.
As we move into 2024 and beyond, the print edition remains highly valued by Vogue’s luxury advertising partners. The magazine’s hefty September and March issues, often topping 800 pages, remain two of the most coveted placements in the industry.
Global Reach Continues to Expand
Over the past several years, Vogue has continued to expand its global empire, with new launches in Eastern Europe, Asia, and South America.
Vogue Poland, helmed by Filip Niedenthal, burst onto the scene in 2018 and has established itself as a regional powerhouse under Niedenthal’s avant-garde aesthetic.
Vogue Taiwan filled an essential void in the eastern Asian market upon its launch last year, while Vogue Brazil’s visually rich point of view captures the energy and free spirit of São Paulo.
With 26 global iterations, we can expect Condé Nast to continue investing in regional Vogue titles across new frontiers. The magazine’s worldwide lens makes its ability to set global style agendas unmatched.
ELLE
Founded just after World War II in the heart of Paris, the international fashion glossy ELLE has grown into the world’s largest fashion magazine brand with 45 global editions. While staying true to its French fashion DNA, ELLE continues to celebrate the multi-faceted aspects of being a woman today.
Pioneering Women’s Wellness Coverage
Under the helm of star EIC Nina Garcia, ELLE US has pivoted towards a “health first” approach over the past several years that doesn’t shy away from going deep on issues affecting women—like reproductive rights, mental health, negotiating pay parity, and more.
This shift has allowed ELLE to forge strong connections with rising health and wellness brands. Last year’s 12-page feature sponsored by Therabody highlighted women championing self-care while breaking barriers across industries. We expect ELLE to continue leading critical cultural dialogues through an intersectional lens of fashion, beauty, health, and society in 2024.
Doubling Down on Sustainable Fashion
True to ELLE’s feminist spirit, the brand uses its substantial platform to advocate for sustainability and elevate forward-thinking labels making conscientious clothing.
Last September, Garcia announced ELLE would ban fur across all worldwide editions, helping lead the charge for industry reform. Italian ELLE regularly features exposés lifting the veil on exploitative labor practices.
In 2023, ELLE launched “The Sustainable Fashion Awards” to celebrate eco trailblazers across the industry. With Gen Z readers demanding accountability from the brands they buy, we expect ELLE to continue using its clout to urge reform.
Cosmopolitan
The long-reigning bible for young women’s sexual health and empowerment, Cosmopolitan remains dedicated to dishing on every aspect of relationships and bedroom dynamics in the 21st century.
Pushing Sex Positivity Into the Mainstream
Since Helen Gurley Brown declared that single girls like sex “just as much as married men” way back in 1965, Cosmo has remained radically candid while pushing conversations on female pleasure into the mainstream media.
In 2024, current EIC Jessica Pels continues advancing sex-positive dialogues through unfiltered personal essays and award-winning reportage. Recent high-trafficked hits like “How TikTok Transformed My Sex Life” and “I Attended a Zoom Orgy During Quarantine” offer raw perspectives you rarely find in women’s media.
As taboos continue to dissolve, we expect Cosmo to drive the conversation on intimacy forward through inclusive features across the full spectrum of orientation and identity under Pels’ fearless leadership.
Bringing Intersectionality to Wellness Content
While dishing on doing the deed remains core to Cosmo’s DNA, the brand has evolved from the days of man-pleasing tips and “trashy lingerie.”
Alongside sex advice, Cosmo offers in-depth, judgment-free well-being content tailored for young women tackling real-world pressures under the constraints of diet culture and unattainable beauty standards.
The magazine’s anti-diet stance has found harmony with its readership; today, over 75% of Cosmo readers believe that being healthy is more important than being thin. In 2024 and beyond, we expect Cosmo to continue advancing inclusive visions of women’s health across the intersections of identity.
Allure Magazine
Since its founding 1991 as a bold upstart pioneering clean cosmetics, Allure Magazine has remained an authoritative voice on beauty, imbued with the sparkling wit and service journalism early followers came to love.
While beauty media has exploded across Instagram and TikTok, Allure maintains its distinction as the definitive style guide for navigating the thrilling innovations––and marketing claims––emerging from the beauty industry each year.
Cutting Through the Hype
As new product drops and underground trends spread at the speed of digital, consumers can feel overwhelmed attempting to check out legit buys versus hype gimmicks. For over thirty years, Allure’s stalwart testing vet process has cut through the noise to crown the best of the best through its legendary Best of Beauty awards.
The magazine’s 2023 hair awards tapped recently appointed hair editor Jihan Thompson to break through the social static and identify ten products delivering true texture inclusivity for curls, coils, waves, and protective styles. We can rely on Allure to remain the golden standard bearer, separating fantastic beauty buys from the just okay.
Doubling Down on Diversity
As conversations on inclusive beauty move to the cultural fore, Allure continues to walk the walk when putting diversity conversations into practice––both on the masthead and between the pages.
In 2022, star beauty editor Julee Wilson became the glossy’s first Black beauty director. Her vision affirming the humanity and boundless beauty of people sitting well beyond society’s narrow margins ushered a new era for the magazine. Wilson spurred a 25% yearly increase in fully Black-owned brand coverage.
Alongside accelerating racial diversity, Allure spotlights dynamic stories illuminating the vibrant beauty of LGBTQ+ communities, elder style icons, disability culture, and more without making folks poster children. We expect Allure to expand representation in 2024 to match the rainbow of perspectives, making up their remarkably vibrant audience.
W Magazine
Counterculture rebels rejoice. Since its founding by iconoclasts John B. Fairchild and Edward Nell in 1971, W Magazine has celebrated cultural provocateurs daring to color outside society’s lines across art, film, fashion, and activism.
Spotlighting Cultural Catalysts
Under current EIC Sara Moonves, W retains its edge, profiling avant-garde talents and reshaping cultural dialogues. Recent cover stars have featured boundary-pushing hip hop sensation Doechii dressed in emerging designer Peter Do and nonbinary actor Emma Corrin challenging gender norms.
These vibrant tastemakers speak to W’s legacy, celebrating talents driving progress at the periphery. As conversations on identity and self-expression evolve, we expect the taboo-busting publication to continue pushing boundaries under Moonves’ curiosity and care.
The Next Gen of Fashion Photography
Beyond its progressive cover talent selections, W also incubates emerging voices through boundary-bending editorials, allowing young photographers, stylists, and makeup artists to conjure their distinct visions sans constraints from corporate sponsors.
In a recent dynamo, 24-year-old photographer Nadine Ijewere has captured covers featuring Michaela Jaé Rodriguez and Hunter Schafer while bringing renewed energy to W’s visual identity. We hope to see W continue fostering the next gen of raw talents, pioneering editorial concepts that speak to the changing tides of fashion and culture.
GQ Magazine
The cultural style bible for men, GQ, has mixed smoldering celebrity profiles with cutting-edge journalism focused on politics, social issues, and gender dynamics since 1957. Under the current EIC Will Welch, the magazine continues to speak to the shifting mindsets of modern men.
Exploring the Modern Male Psyche
Today, we’re seeing seismic changes in traditional gender roles and norms. GQ remains dedicated to documenting the nuances within maleness shaping identity for their readers navigating careers, relationships, mental health, family planning, and more on constantly shifting grounds.
Written by dynamic female voices, features like Daisy Alioto’s 2022 exploration of platonic intimacy among straight men and Rosa Lyster’s dive into the internet’s boy crisis have struck resonant chords. We expect Welch to continue ushering talented writers––female and male alike––to speak honestly on behalf of the magazine’s evolving male audience.
Spotlighting Men Championing Progress
Beyond perspectives, GQ continues to feature celebrities using their platforms to champion progress on today’s defining social issues, from reproductive rights to environmental justice.
Their 2023 Man of the Year cover featuring filmmaker Lee Daniels highlighted the ground he’s broken for Black queer creatives through his organization, The Actors Fund. In pairing celebrity profiles with social impact, GQ succeeds in speaking aspirationally to its audience. We trust Welch to keep GQ’s values locked into championing people and advancing society.
Vanity Fair
The beloved bible of American popular culture, Vanity Fair, has spotlighted Hollywood legends, media titans, political provocateurs, and cultural icons within its glossy pages since 1913. Today, the brand continues setting the tone on celebrity and power under Radhika Jones.
A Commanding Hollywood Lens
As entertainment media fragments, no other brand equals the intimate insider access Vanity Fair retains among the rich and famous. From buzzed-about cover exclusives featuring Beyonce announcing her latest Renaissance to George Clooney’s tell-all profile, Hollywood heavies still clamor for some VF ink while readers respond eagerly.
Beyond celebrities, the magazine cultivates relationships with shadowy media players, capturing their first extensive interviews. Recent examples include ICM Partner CEO Chris Silbermann and rarely-seen Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger. We fully expect Vanity Fair to continue leading industry dialogue through unparalleled exposure of entertainment’s most influential leaders.
Hard–Hitting Political Coverage
Alongside Hollywood dishes, Vanity Fair is the gold standard bearer in Washington reporting, thanks to marquee writers like Joe Hagan and Gabriel Sherman.
While avoided by many glossies today, Vanity Fair continues hitting key issues–like the January 6th insurrection hearings and the Supreme Court’s erosion of rights – without mincing words. The magazine has received praise for refusing to normalize extremism.
As the old guard shifts right, we hope for Jones and crew to maintain journalistic integrity and continue holding the powerful political class accountable.
L’Officiel USA
The avant-garde French title L’Officiel has pushed boundaries in art and fashion editorials since 1921 through daring concepts and bold visual language. Stateside, the magazine continues celebrating experimental talents across industries.
A Global Doorway to Emerging Creatives
Under the helm of digital editorial director Josie Breckenridge, L’Officiel USA has become a clarion for spotlighting young, cosmopolitan talents across creative fields from fashion to filmmaking, fine artists to photographers, musicians to models.
Through Breckenfridge’s worldwide viewpoint, the magazine has broadened exposure for international talents that haven’t fully broken the US market yet, from South Korean illustrator Constant to Nigerian design collective Studio Asao and singer Lafawndah.
As creators continue to transcend geographic barriers through digital platforms, we can rely on L’Officiel to identify vanguard global talents, redefining creative frontiers before reaching widespread fame.
Artistic Fashion Spreads
L’Officiel retains distinction as a fashion title willing to take daring risks across beauty, style, and culture coverage without backing down under public pressure.
Breckenridge allows new photographers and stylists to articulate avant-garde aesthetics through unbridled imagination and improvisation without compromising their vision to appease mainstream commercial interests.
While this editorial experimentation triggers the occasional culture clash, Breckenridge stands behind giving pioneering talents space to conjure magic. We hope L’Officiel USA persists in celebrating unrestricted creativity.
The Next Chapter
While legacy titles retain their authority and newcomers shake up the ranks, one thing remains clear – fashion continues to drive cultural conversations intersecting identity, values, politics, and self-expression with style media leading the discourse.
As we move through 2024, we can expect diversity of thought, debate, and aesthetics to color the pages of fashion magazines as they respond to shifting reader perspectives while leading the industry across print and digital landscapes.
