Madame (magazine)

Madame
Cover of the December 2024 issue, Marine Deleeuw by Zeb Daemen
Editor-in-ChiefPetra Winter
CategoriesFashion
FrequencyMonthly
Publisher
  • Heilmaier (from 1952)
  • Medien-Union Ludwigshafen (1984–2010)
  • Media Group Medweth (2010–2017)
  • Bauer Media Group (2018–2020)
  • Beautiful Minds Media (2020–present)
Total circulation296,525 (2025)
Founded1952
CountryGermany
Based inMunich
LanguageGerman
Websitemadame.de
ISSN0024-936X

Madame (stylised in all caps), is a German monthly fashion magazine. It has been published in Munich since 1952. It is the oldest fashion magazine of German origin in publication.

Background

Madame is a German fashion magazine founded in 1950 as Figaro (till 1952, then as Madame till 1969, then as Madame und Elegante Welt till 1975, as Madame since 1975),[1] it is the oldest fashion magazine of German origin in publication.[2]

The magazine is a monthly publication, published 11 times per year for February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December.

Circulation

Newsstand sales and subscriptions (Germany)[3]
Year 1998 2003 2013 2023 2024 2025
Circulation 518,194 496,779 360,371 281,650 282,180 296,525

Editors

Editor Start year End year Ref.
Heinz Weigt 1950
Jochen Willke
Helene-Maria Kurbjeweit-Rose [4]
Irene Krawehl 2000 [5][6]
Katrin Riebartsch 2001 2013 [6][7]
Petra Winter 2014 present [7]

History

Madame traces its origins to Figaro, Figaro : Zeitschrift der gepflegten Frau (Figaro : Magazine of the well-groomed woman) began publication in 1950.[8] Following a legal dispute with the French newspaper Le Figaro, the magazine rebranded to Madame in 1952.[8] By 1961 the magazine had 1.8 million readers.[9]

In 1961, Time reported on the Madame Club.[9] It was a private members' club operated by the magazine and owned by editor Heinz Weigt.[9] Catering to the new wealthy industrialist class of West Germany, membership was first limited to 1,000 members and would later increase to 2,000 members.[9] Notable members included Hjalmar Schacht, Gina Lollobrigida, Curd Jürgens, Winnie Markus, Max Grundig, Max Schmeling, Ilse Kubaschewski, and Friedrich, 7th Prince Fugger von Babenhausen.[9] The club was originally located at Munich's 12 Brienner Straße and would later move to a nearby hotel.[9] Also in 1961, promoting the magazine and German products, editorial staff and models toured the United States.[10] Actress Winnie Markus, model Angela Stoelze, and actress Hannaleore Cremer travelled as part of the tour.[10]

In 1984, the magazine was acquired by Medien-Union Ludwigshafen,[11] in 2010 Medien-Union sold the publication to Media Group Medweth.[12][13][14] Also in 2010, Madame took over the licence for the German edition of L'Officiel Hommes (publishing the title until 2016).[15]

Bauer Media Group acquired the magazine from Media Group Medweth in 2018.[13] Bauer announced the closure of its Munich offices in 2020 and Madame was sold to Beautiful Minds Media.[16] Beautiful Minds Media is a subsidiary of Looping Group, created by Dominik Wichmann (CEO of Looping Group) and Madame editor-in-chief, Petra Winter for the purchase of the magazine.[16]

In 2022, Madame celebrated its 70th anniversary with a party attended by Doris Dörrie and Sibel Kekilli, among others.[17]

The first international spin-off of the magazine Madame Arabia launched in 2024, published by APM (Arabian Publishing Media) and based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The magazine was edited by Jessica Michault and since 2025 by Cynthia Kattar.[2][18]

Editions

  • Madame (since 1952, as Figaro from 1950 to 1952)[1]
  • Monsieur (since 1970)
  • Madame Arabia (since 2024)[2]
  • Madame Beauty (ceased publication)
  • Madame Collections (ceased publication)
  • Madame Living (ceased publication)

References

  1. 1 2 "Madame". Zeitschriftendatenbank. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Diderich, Joelle (8 March 2024). "Jessica Alba Covers Inaugural Issue of Madame Arabia Magazine". WWD. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  3. ↑ "Madame Circulation history (1998 to present)". Informationsgemeinschaft zur Feststellung der Verbreitung von Werbeträgern. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  4. ↑ "Untitled". Kress (in German). 4 March 1982. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  5. ↑ "Dr. Irene Krawehl bei Condé Nast". New Business (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Untitled". Kress (in German). 15 September 2000. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  7. 1 2 Pauker, Manuela (10 December 2013). "Petra Winter macht "Madame"". Werben & Verkaufen (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Discover Madame Germany". Vintage von Werth. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "West Germany: Lebensraum at the Top". Time. 24 November 1961. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  10. 1 2 Curtis, Charlotte (11 May 1961). "Flurry of Fraeuleins Here to Show Fashion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Untitled". Kress (in German). 31 January 1985. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "OZ-Verlag übernimmt "Madame"" [OZ-Verlag takes over "Madame"]. Kress (in German). 14 January 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  13. 1 2 "Goetz Partners advised Media Group Medweth". Fortlane Partners. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  14. ↑ Sommer, Rupert (30 November 2017). "Christian Medweth verkauft "Madame" an Bauer". Kress (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  15. ↑ Kirst, Nina (6 December 2010). ""L'Officiel Hommes" erscheint ab sofort im Madame Verlag" ["L'Officiel Hommes" is now available from Madame Verlag]. Kress (in German). Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  16. 1 2 Häuser, Daniel (30 October 2010). "Bauer verkauft "Madame" an die Looping Group". Clap (in German). Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "Madame magazine turns 70". Looping Group. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "MADAME Arabia welcomes Cynthia Kattar as Editor-in-Chief". Madame Arabia. 19 August 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  • Madame Official website
  • Looping Group, Official website of the publisher of Madame
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Madame (magazine) at Wikimedia Commons
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.