Fashion focus: international Vogue (Europe)

At the start of December, I wrote an article for this column about American Vogue. In that piece, I briefly mentioned that the magazine enjoyed international success with the emergence of editions across the globe since the 20th century. There are now 28 operating international editions. I had always intended to write about some of these editions in more detail, so let’s revisit this topic today.

The British edition emerged during WWI as a practical solution to shipping restrictions and paper shortages

The first international edition of Vogue was launched in 1916, 24 years after Vogue was initially founded, and it was none other than British Vogue. The title of this edition is unique, being the only international edition which doesn’t follow the typical ‘Vogue [Blank]’ format. British Vogue is the most profitable British magazine, and the third most profitable edition of Vogue, following the US and China. It is so economically successful through its advertising rather than its sales revenue, which has resulted in British Vogue having a more commercial reputation. The British edition emerged during WW1 as a practical solution to shipping restrictions and paper shortages and was incredibly similar to the US edition until 1922.

The current editor is Chioma Nnadi, who became editor in 2024, and is the first black woman to hold this position. Prior to Nnadi, there was Alexandra Shulman (1992-2017) and Edward Enniful (2017-2024). Shulman was known for developing collector’s issues of British Vogue – notably the ‘Gold Millennium Issue’. Shulman also put Catherine, Princess of Wales – who at the time was Duchess of Cambridge – on the cover of the centenary issue in 2016. Enniful, most prominently, featured the oldest person to ever appear on the cover of British Vogue in the June 2020 issue with Judi Dench, and in 2022, had Timothée Chalamet as British Vogue’s first solo male cover star.

The highest-selling issue of Vogue Italia, and the first issue which had to be reprinted, was in 2008 which featured only black models

Another notable edition is Vogue Italia, which has been in publication since 1964, although it only adopted its current name in 1966, as it operated as ‘Novità’ (1964/65) and then ‘Vogue Italia and Novità’ (1965/66), becoming ‘Vogue Italia’ in June 1966 when Franco Sartori overtook as Head of Editorial Content. There have been many issues and covers of note for Vogue Italia, such as ‘State of Emergency’ in September 2006, as a visual play and provocative critique of the War on Terror by the Bush administration. Furthermore, in 2010, Vogue Italia released ‘Water and Oil’, as a political statement about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This received mixed reviews with some interpreting it as making a mockery and exploiting the tragedy, while others found it disturbing yet informative of environmental issues. The highest-selling issue of Vogue Italia, and the first issue which had to be reprinted, was in 2008, featuring only black models in response to widespread criticism in the fashion world of its endemic lack of black cover models.

Finally, the most recent edition to emerge was Vogue Adria, which has been in publication since March 2024. This edition is for the countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. The editor-in-chief is Milan Đačić who was previously the creative director and fashion director of Elle Srbija as well as editor-in-chief of Elle Man Srbija. The first issue was published on March 12 2024, featuring Nataša Vojnović, as photographed by Filip Koludrović, on the cover with the headline ‘Nova Zora’ translating to ‘New Dawn’. Beyond the publications, the magazine organised the Vogue Adria Christmas Ballet – a performance of The Nutcracker at the Croatian National Theatre as a humanitarian event to raise funds for Zagreb’s Classical Ballet School and Silvija Hercigonja Artistic Dance School. This demonstrates the International Edition of Vogue working at the convergence of culture, fashion, and art.