It was a labour of love for historian and author Julie Summers when asked to write the history of British Vogue, from its first issue in 1916 to the present day, taking her four years to complete, a feat she calls “a huge honour”.
Commissioned by Condé Nast, the resulting book: ‘British Vogue: The Biography of an Icon‘ is an impressive read.
Having written extensively about Audrey Withers, its editor during WW2, Julie was the right woman for the job, and after jumping at the chance, even she was daunted by the huge task ahead; celebrating British Vogue from the late 20th century through to the early 21st.
“It is a huge body of work, and absolutely fascinating,” Julie tells me, as she prepares to speak at Oxford Literary Festival on Thursday, “and it was a great privilege to be asked.”
‘British Vogue was, and still is, a bible, so the level of photography and journalism was really striking’
But where do you start with such a mammoth project? “With the first issue of September 1916. I read all 1758 issues of British Vogue and what was really remarkable is that each issue is new, exciting and looking to the future. British Vogue was, and still is, a bible, so the level of photography and journalism was really striking.
“As for those featured it was like the world’s greatest dinner party, name a famous person and they were in Vogue, it was an extraordinary pool of talent and had such high standards.
Julie was immediately riveted by the passage of time, fashion and history evidenced in the Vogue archives, from the austerity years of two world wars, the Bright Young Things of the 20s, the elegant design of the 30s, the swinging sixties, supermodel 80s, power dressing and onwards, advising, celebrating and informing women along the way, as well as the editors that shaped each era.
‘Fashion is one of the biggest industries in the world so I refute any slights of superficiality’
From Grace Coddington to Anna Wintour and Alexandra Shulman, plus the world’s most famous photographers from Lord Snowden to Edward Steichen, Helmut Newton, Mario Testino, and David Bailey, they all played their part in ensuing Vogue’s dominance and influence, enhanced by the world’s most famous writers and journalists and the events panning our around them. From Virginia Woolf and Aldous Huxley to Cecil Beaton, they were all involved.
“But more than that, each decade has such character and I had to ensure that the book was a narrative of nuggets, so it was about sprinkling gold dust on the pivotal moments in history. I wanted to show what this magazine represents,” Julie adds, “because it’s also a history of Britain.”
‘the fashion designers in Vogue are some of the great artists of the 20th century’
“I think Vogue has evolved very successfully both in print and online since then and still addresses the thorny issues, but it has always had an innate sense of humour, which shone through in my research. It’s not snooty but aimed at the aspirational.”
And what of the fashion? “I’m a historian, not a fashionista, but even I could appreciate the excitement when Chanel opened her first boutique in London, or when Dior’s new collections came out, or the opening of the Biba shops.
“And the fashion photo shoots are just sensational, the budgets were huge and so much time and money were spent on the them across the decades.”
‘Vogue is about so much more than fashion’
So did the experience teach Julie anything about herself? “How to dress for my age and to be more comfortable in my own skin. It’s been very liberating,” she says.
“Fashion is one of the biggest industries in the world and we all make a decision every morning about what we are going to wear and how it will help us face the world, so I refute any slights of superficiality. Clothes give you confidence and the fashion designers in Vogue are some of the great artists of the 20th century.
“But British Vogue is also about celebrating women, guiding and advising them, helping them cope with whatever’s coming their way from war and abortion to politics. Vogue is about so much more than fashion.”
British Vogue: The Biography of an Icon: Julie Summers is at Oxford Literary Festival on Thursday April 3 at 2pm. BOOK HERE
