L'Officiel


L'Officiel is a French fashion magazine. It has been published in Paris since 1921 and targets upper-income, educated women aged from 25 to 49. In 2006, it had a circulation of 101,719. A men's edition of L'Officiel, L'Officiel Hommes, and many foreign editions are also published. The complete name of the magazine is "L'Officiel de la couture et de la mode de Paris".

History

L'Officiel was first published in 1921, the same year as Vogue. It was the official publication of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, a trade body representing all Paris couturiers, and took over the rôle of Les Elégances Parisiennes, a joint publication of a group of about twenty-five couturiers which became defunct in 1922. L'Officiel was a professional trade magazine, directed principally at international buyers of high fashion, both corporate and individual, and at those working in the fashion industry. The director was Max Bruhne, and the chief editor Yves-Georges Prade.
Georges Jalou joined the magazine as artistic director in 1932. Within a short time it had helped to start the careers of designers such as Pierre Balmain, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Christian Dior, and Yves St. Laurent, and came to be known as "the Bible of fashion and of high society". Jalou became general director of the publication, and later bought it. He transferred it to his three children in 1986: Laurent Jalou became the president of Editions Jalou, Marie-José Susskind-Jalou directed its editorial content, and Maxime Jalou was responsible for publication. After the death of Laurent in 2003, Marie-José Susskind-Jalou became president of the company. The magazine aims at a younger market than it did in its early years.