L'Officiel USA

L'Officiel USA
Cover of the February/March 2018 issue, Lana Del Rey by Mick Rock
Editor-in-ChiefCaroline Grosso
CategoriesFashion
FrequencyBimonthly
PublisherDr. Feridun Hamdullahpur[1]
FounderEvan Katz
First issueSeptember 1976 (1976-09)
Company
CountryUnited States
Based inNew York City

L'Officiel USA (French pronunciation: [lɔfisjɛl]; stylised in all caps), is an American bimonthly fashion magazine that covers haute couture, ready-to-wear fashion, beauty, popular culture, design, and jewellery. Since 2022, Caroline Grosso has served as editor-in-chief, previous editors include Himilce Novas and Joseph Akel, among others.

Based in the Chelsea neighbourhood of New York City, L'Officiel USA began publication in 1976 as the first international edition of the French fashion magazine L'Officiel.

Background

L'Officiel USA is the American edition of French fashion magazine L'Officiel. It was founded in 1976 by Evan Katz and was the first international edition of L'Officiel. In 1980, the magazine ceased publication, returning to print in 2018.

The magazine is a bimonthly publication published seven times per year.

Editors

Editor Start year End year Ref.
Original (1976–1980)
Dorothy Coleman Seeman 1976 1979 [2]
Himilce Novas 1979 1980 [3][4]
Revival (2017–present)
Joseph Akel 2018 2019 [5]
Peter Davis 2019 2020 [6]
Caroline Grosso 2022 present [7]

History

L'Officiel USA (stylised as L'Officiel/U.S.A.) was launched in 1976 as the first international edition of L'Officiel,[8] The magazine was edited by Dorothy Coleman Seeman.[9] Evan Katz was the owner and publisher, by its second issue the magazine had a subscriber count of 124,000.[10][11]

For the 1976 debut an advertising campaign featuring the endorsement of American model Marisa Berenson ran in WWD.[12] In 1977, an advertising campaign was produced featuring the members of the Joffrey Ballet committee (Sally Brayley, Geraldine Stutz, Mrs. B. Duke Glenn, Mrs. John G. Ward, Charlotte Ford, Susan Brody, Isabelle Leeds, Christine Biddle, and Susan Fine) and publisher Evan Katz.[13]

In 1979, Seeman she was replaced by Himilce Novas, whom had been called "terrific" by Diana Vreeland.[9]

In July 1980, co-publisher F. Philip Slater (previously of Town & Country) and five other employees were let go due to the early 1980s recession, Katz attempted to find financing or a buyer for the magazine.[14][15]

L'Officiel/U.S.A. would cease publication with the August 1980 issue.[16][17] At the time the magazine had a circulation of 140,000.[15]

Ideal Publishing announced on 19 March 1981 that the magazine would return from September as a bi-monthly.[18] On 20 March 1981, Evan Katz, ex-publisher and owner of L'Officiel in the United States, disputed their claims and stated that he still held the rights to the L'Officiel name and that Ideal never been in contact with him or Éditions Edouard Max Brunhes. When The New York Times asked Ideal's chairman Seymour L. Butan if he had contacted the French publisher he answered, ''I don't have to tell you anything.''[19]

Rumours of an American L'Officiel relaunch would persist throughout the 2000s, however, it wasn't until 2017 that the magazine was revived.

In 2017, L'Officiel USA launched on digital platforms led by Joseph Akel with funding from Global Emerging Markets, the first print edition was released in February 2018.[20] The magazine is based in New York City.[21]

Peter Davis, replaced Akel as editor-in-chief in 2019.[22] Davis would exit the magazine at the end of 2020.[23]

In December 2021, the City of New York brought an action against L'Officiel USA Inc. under the Freelance Isn't Free Act, claiming that the magazine had failed to pay freelance contributors.[24][25][26] A settlement was reached in July 2023 with L'Officiel agreeing to pay 41 freelancers US$275,000.[27]

After the role of editor was left vacant for nearly two years, Caroline Grosso was appointed editor-in-chief of L'Officiel USA in August 2022.[23] Grosso previously served as the global head of content projects and fashion initiatives for L'Officiel,[23] prior to joining L'Officiel she was the digital fashion director at W.

Editions

  • L'Officiel USA (from September 1976 to August 1980 and since February 2018)
  • L'Officiel Hommes USA (since September 2020)
  • L'Officiel Art USA (from December 2020 to April 2023)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "L'Officiel USA - Contact". L'Officiel USA. August 19, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Walter D. Seeman, 57, Executive In Sales for Ballet-Wear Concern". The New York Times. December 20, 1978. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  3. ↑ "L'Officiel Editor Takes New Post". The New York Times. October 16, 1980. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  4. ↑ "It's official". Ottawa Citizen. July 27, 1979. p. 25.
  5. ↑ "L'Officiel Launches US Edition". The Business of Fashion. October 10, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  6. ↑ Tonchi, Stefano; Pecorari, Marco (2021). L'Officiel 100: One Hundred People and Ideas from a Century in Fashion. Marsilio. ISBN 978-8829712809.
  7. ↑ "Caroline Grosso Named L'Officiel Editor-in-Chief". The Business of Fashion. August 12, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Edition slated". Waycross Journal-Herald. June 9, 1976. p. 23.
  9. 1 2 "It's official". Ottawa Citizen. July 27, 1979. p. 25.
  10. ↑ Christy, Marian (December 31, 1976). "Fashion first and foremost in new magazine". The Telegraph-Herald. p. 7.
  11. ↑ Kushia, Gigi (October 22, 1977). "New Fashion Magazine competes with Vogue". The News-Dispatch. p. 7.
  12. ↑ Berenson, Marisa; Evan, Katz (September 10, 1976). ""I said 'yes' to Evan Katz…". Women's Wear Daily. p. 9.
  13. ↑ "A Toast to Evan Katz". Women's Wear Daily. October 7, 1977. p. 7. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Executives Realigned At Hearst Magazines". The New York Times. January 27, 1969. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "L'Officiel Reducing Its Staff Amid Advertising Decline". The New York Times. July 21, 1980. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  16. ↑ "L'Officiel Editor Takes New Post". The New York Times. October 16, 1980. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  17. ↑ Dougherty, Philip H. (March 19, 1981). "Fashion Magazine Revived". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  18. ↑ Dougherty, Philip H. (March 19, 1981). "Fashion Magazine Revived". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  19. ↑ Dougherty, Philip H. (March 20, 1981). "Founder of L'Officiel Disputes Plan to Republish". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  20. ↑ Hays, Kali (January 14, 2021). "L'Officiel Freelancers Take Legal Action in France for Unpaid Wages". Women's Wear Daily. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Archived 15 January 2021.
  21. ↑ Fernandez, Chantal (October 10, 2017). "L'Officiel Launches US Edition". The Business of Fashion. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  22. ↑ Tonchi, Stefano; Pecorari, Marco (2021). L'Officiel 100: One Hundred People and Ideas from a Century in Fashion. Marsilio. ISBN 978-8829712809.
  23. 1 2 3 "Caroline Grosso Named L'Officiel Editor-in-Chief". The Business of Fashion. August 12, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  24. ↑ Testa, Jessica (December 2, 2021). "New York City Sues L'Officiel Magazine for Not Paying Freelancers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Archived 2 December 2021.
  25. ↑ Scheiber, Noam (October 27, 2016). "As Freelancers' Ranks Grow, New York Moves to See They Get What They're Due". The New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  26. ↑ "New York City Sues French Fashion Media Company L'Officiel USA for Failing to pay NYC Freelancers". The official website of the City of New York. December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  27. ↑ Guthrie, Marisa (July 14, 2023). "The City of New York Reaches Settlement With L'Officiel USA Over Failure to Pay Freelancers". WWD. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.