# W (magazine)

W (or W Magazine) is an American fashion magazine that was launched in 1972 as a sister publication to Women's Wear Daily. The magazine features stories about style through the lens of art, celebrity, culture, fashion and film.

## Background

W was launched in 1972 by James Brady, who at the time was the publisher of the newspaper (and sister publication of W, Women's Wear Daily). The magazine was originally a bi-monthly (2x per month) publication until 1993 when it was relaunched as an oversized monthly publication.
In 2000 Condé Nast purchased the magazine from Fairchild Publications and in 2019 it was sold to Surface Media (later changing their name to Future Media Group) and in 2020 it was sold to W Media which was created for the purchase of the publication and it now works with operating partners Bustle Digital Group and Mic, along with a group of investors (led by Karlie Kloss).
The magazine is now bimonthly (6x per year)

### Circulation

Average circulation (United States and International) :
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Circulation | 453,438 | 452,181 | 458,197 | 452,664 | 450,747 |

### Editors

| Editor-in-Chief | Start year | End year |
| John Fairchild | 1972 | 1997 |
| Patrick McCarthy | 1997 | 2010 |
| Stefano Tonchi | 2010 | 2019 |
| Sara Moonves | 2019 | present |

## History
### Early Years, 1972–1999

W Magazine origins lie in a biweekly newspaper, which was spun off from Women's Wear Daily, becoming a large monthly magazine published by Fairchild Fashion Media in 1993. When Fairchilds' owner – Capital Cities/ABC – merged with The Walt Disney Company in 1997, W was one of the publications the new company continued to produce.

### Condé Nast, 1999–2019

titles.
Other controversial cover shoots include Steven Meisel's entitled "Asexual Revolution", in which male and female models (including Jessica Stam and Karen Elson) are depicted in gender-bending styles and provocative poses. In addition, Tom Ford's racy shoot with Klein and the accompanying article on sexuality in fashion came as a shock to some loyal readers. During the interview, Ford is quoted as saying: "I've always been about pansexuality. Whether I'm sleeping with girls or not at this point in my life, the clothes have often been androgynous, which is very much my standard of beauty". Klein was also the photographer for the racy photo shoot featured in the August 2007 issue, showcasing David and Victoria Beckham. Bruce Weber produced a 60-page tribute to New Orleans in the April 2008 issue, and shot a 36-page story on the newest fashion designers in Miami for the July 2008 issue.
W also became well known for covering high class Western and Asian societies. Many of these society luminaries, as well as the elite of the entertainment and fashion industries, have allowed W into their homes for the magazine's "W House Tours" feature, including famous designers, philanthropists, and cultural icons.
By 2009, W was harder hit than most fashion publications by a drop in luxury advertising, with ad pages down nearly 46 percent in one year. Longtime editor in chief Patrick McCarthy retired in 2010 when Condé Nast moved W to its consumer magazine group, along with Vogue, Glamour and Allure. Stefano Tonchi succeeded him as the magazine's editor in chief. In 2011, Edward Enninful was tapped to take the magazine's style directorship. Under Enninful's direction, W generated considerable attention for its riskier editorial, including the March 2012 cover shot by Steven Klein featuring Kate Moss depicted as a nun as well as another cover featuring singer Nicki Minaj dolled up as an 18th-century French courtesan. For the magazine's November 2011 art issue, Enninful collaborated with Steven Meisel on a series of fake advertisements that ran throughout the magazine, including one that featured RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3 contestant Carmen Carrera hawking a fictitious fragrance called La Femme.
In 2011, W participated in a four-episode plot line on the fourth season of CW teen drama Gossip Girl.
Over the years, the magazine cut back its print editions from monthly in 2013 to eight times in 2018.

### Future Media, 2019–2020

In 2018, W became one of three publications Condé Nast put up for sale in the face of significant financial losses that forced it to adopt a series of cost-cutting measures. By 2019, it was acquired by Future Media, in a deal the New York Post estimated at $7 million. In June 2019, Moonves was named as its first-ever female editor-in-chief, succeeding Stefano Tonchi.
Under Moonves's editorship, the magazine underwent a major transition. By 2020, she announced to staff that many were being furloughed and that those who work on online content would be staying on at reduced salaries. The new W team finished the biggest Best Performances issue ever. In the first week of January 2020, W launched nine covers, a 76-page celebrity portfolio covering 29 celebrities and 20 videos. Additionally, the magazine launched a series of new initiatives and dramatically expanded its digital footprint. They launched W’s first podcast, 5 Things with Lynn Hirschberg, which attracted a broad listener base and included guests like Quentin Tarantino, Charlize Theron, Saoirse Ronan, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Nicole Kidman, Awkwafina, and Margot Robbie as a part of the new vision for the brand.

### W Media, 2020–present

On August 14, 2020, W was acquired by Bustle Digital Group, Mic, and W Media, a newly formed joint venture led by Karlie Kloss and including Aryeh Bourkoff, Jason Blum, Kaia Gerber, Kirsten Green and Lewis Hamilton. They retained Moonves as editor-in-chief.

## International editions

International edition were previously published in Japan and for Europe. The South Korean edition was launched in 2005 and is published under license by Doosan Magazine. A Chinese edition was launched in 2023 under license by MC Style Media; the magazine's editor-in-chief is Mix Wei.

## Editors

List of Editor-in-Chiefs of all W editions:
| Country | Circulation dates | Editor-in-Chief | Start year | End year |
| United States of America (W) | 1972–present | John Fairchild | 1972 | 1997 |
| United States of America (W) | 1972–present | Patrick McCarthy | 1997 | 2010 |
| United States of America (W) | 1972–present | Stefano Tonchi | 2010 | 2019 |
| United States of America (W) | 1972–present | Sara Moonves | 2019 | present |
| South Korea (W Korea) | 2005–present | Hyejoo Lee | | present |
| China (W China) | 2023–present | Mix Wei | 2023 | present |