Comparison Of Conde Nast Magazines In The Magazine Industry

With over 150 women-geared magazines worldwide by the early 1990’s, some critics may have felt the market was over flooded. In spite of the heavy competition, two publishers believed that they had something fresh and innovative to offer the magazine industry. In 1991, Conde Nast unleashed Allure, the first women’s magazine devoted specifically to beauty. Three years later Time Inc. came up with an idea of their own. They launched InStyle, hoping to set it apart from the competition by appealing to a broader demographic than magazines like Vogue and Elle, which catered towards mainly affluent women. In the years that followed, both publications would make their mark on the fashion and beauty worlds and prove themselves to be mainstays in the magazine industry.

In 1990, S.I. Newhouse Jr., chairman of Condé Nast, and then editorial director Alexander Liberman propositioned Linda Wells to develop an idea they had for a beauty magazine. At the time Linda Wells had worked for The New York Times Magazine as a beauty and food editor, where she garnered a reputation for her apt and honest approach to reporting. Newhouse and Liberman believed she would be the perfect candidate to pioneer a magazine aimed at advising beauty tips to stylish women (Conde Nast). Linda Wells agreed to sign on as Founding Editor-In-Chief and she make it her goal to create a magazine that was both informative and truthful, unlike traditional magazines that focused on fashion and trends.

The magazine planned to make its debut as a monthly magazine in January 1991, but something didn’t feel quite right to the publishers. They shredded the initial prototype and started from scratch, completely overhauling the entire format and logo. Allure was finally ready to launc...

... middle of paper ...

...ce their inceptions over 20 years ago, both InStyle and Allure magazines have secured themselves a place in the women’s magazine market. They have both demonstrated that they have an authority and influence in the fashion and beauty industries. In spite of these similarities the magazines went about their success in different manners. Through creating the world’s first beauty magazine, Allure gained its success by obtaining a niche market and offering an original product. On the other hand, InStyle took an existing model of a fashion magazine and expanded it to reach a greater demographic by including trends at all price points. Both these magazines took innovative measures to create a success in an over flooded market and they have continued to secure a readership by adapting to new media and positioning themselves as must-have guides to insider beauty and fashion.