I read Glossy, the inside story of Vogue Magazine, cover to cover, in less than 48 hours. The book written by author and journalist Nina-Sophia Miralles is a chronological dive into the history of fashion’s most influential and powerful magazine, from its founding in New York in 1982 to the present day.
Vogue, which you may know as the flagship brand of American conglomerate Condé Nast, one of the biggest magazine publishers in the world, has had many lives during the course of the 20th century. The magazine survived both World Wars, and the London edition kept printing even during the worst days of The Blitz.
As such, Vogue’s history crosses and absorbs other histories. The book is a fantastic read because it touches on the relationship between fashion and other themes such as fine arts, Parisian lifestyle, editorial photography, journalism, women in the workplace, media business, power and wealth to name a few. It’s a colourful and incredibly well researched and documented style history book.
Some of these inside stories are tragic, others are a bit silly, but none of them are boring. We get to know Vogue’s several Editor in Chiefs and witness the spectacular rise to the top of the most famous of them all, Anna Wintour. I also loved reading about the subtle cultural differences between the Paris edition of Vogue and the US one.
I had the opportunity to interview author and journalist, Nina-Sophia Miralles, for my newsletter Slow Fashion Weekly. This Q&A was first sent to my subscribers in March 2021 for the book launch.
Q&A with Nina-Sophia Miralles, author of Glossy, the inside story of Vogue magazine
What in the history of Vogue piqued your interest? Why did you choose to write about this magazine over other glossies?
“I guess I think of Vogue as the ultimate glossy, though I’m sure some people will contest that! It’s certainly been around the longest, and I do think in most people’s minds it is the ultimate fashion mag. I enjoyed Vogue a lot as a teenager – for the outlandish clothes which I never saw in malls – but my interest grew to obsession only when I started writing about the Vogue editors. I find them so colourful, so inspiring, so bizarre and so fundamental to the fashion sector.”
Glossy, the inside story of Vogue is packed with anecdotal stories. Which one surprised you the most?
“There was a lot that surprised me! I had no idea the Nazis tried to appropriate Vogue and the staff in France had to come up with mad schemes to save it from German clutches during WWII. I had no idea a Vogue editor invented the catwalk. I had no idea Vogue once spent $7 million on a photoshoot. I had no idea Anna Wintour was fired so many times before landing at Vogue.”
Read the book | Glossy, the inside story of Vogue magazine
Who’s your favourite character in Vogue’s history and why?
“This is a tough one! There were so many personalities that really captured me. One of the editors I wrote about least was Beatrix Miller, who edited British Vogue (1964 – 1985), so I’ll give her some space here. She discovered photographers like David Bailey and everybody who remembers her focuses on how supportive she was. She ran the Vogue office a bit like a headmistress and was called Miss Miller by everyone, but although she was strict, she helped people build their life.”
“It was a habit of hers to hire talented young graduates. Dame Marina Warner (first female president of the Royal Society of Literature) remembers being given a job with barely any experience and no connections when she was 20. When she told Beatrix Miller she had started writing her first novel, Miller gave her Fridays off at full pay. That kind of generosity is pretty unheard of. Imagine a boss who believed in you so much they paid you to pursue your dreams. She gave people chances, and almost everyone she sponsored became a star.”
