The History of Elle Magazine

 

The History

Helene Gordon, founder of Elle magazine, married Pierre Lazareff who was a very well known journalist in France. Shortly after, Gordon decided to step away from her studies, and focused on fashion. Upon returning from a move to New York with her family that lasted a few years, she decided to pursue a career in fashion. The couple then created the first issue of Elle on October 1, 1945 and watched it sweep the nation.

The word Elle, in English translates to the word she. The slogan “Si elle lit, elle lit Elle”, translates to “If she reads, she reads Elle”. The company began to struggle until 1981 when Daniel Filipacchi and Jean-Luc Lagardere purchased the company, which then launched in the Unites States. This was an amazing business move because it boosted the label to a new level. Since then the company has grown to consist of 43 international editions in more than 60 countries. The magazine attracts an extreme amount of readers; the number is about 69 million. Despite being mostly women who read the magazine, the ages can span from 14 to 49.

What Does Elle Do? 

Elle magazine connects women on an international scale. Women purchase the magazine each day to learn the latest beauty tips and to find out how to upgrade their fashion, without breaking the bank. Each issue is filled with articles on how to get a certain look while staying on a budget. Celebrities are the powerhouse of profit. Elle uses celebrities to draw readers into purchasing magazines. Celebrities are essentially promoting everything that the magazine is trying to push onto women because it popularizes trends and people tend to hop on the bandwagon.

Not only does the magazine focus on fashion and beauty, but also many articles focus on pop-culture and the media. When stars are on the cover of Elle, they use that to promote themselves, but this also benefits Elle because they are big enough to have celebrities agree to be featured in their magazine. Love and Life, as well as horoscopes are also features inside the magazine, where readers look for advice to live a life like celebrities. I guess you could say Elle is most definitely worth the $3.99 it costs to buy a copy.