Like everyone in the fashion industry, the team at Sydney's Closet was saddened to learn the news that Teen Vogue will stop printing in 2018. The magazine was one of our faves!
The good news is that the brand plans to survive, and we hope be very successful, on digital platforms like www.teenvogue.com, Facebook and Instagram. We're going to miss thumbing through the glossy pages loaded with must-have fashions, beauty tips, dating advice, entertainment news and serious articles on politics and current affairs that touch nerves and spark controversy.
Teen Vogue will also reach it's audience with live events like meetups in Austin, Texas and a Summit in New York City. (Here's hoping their travels include a stop in St. Louis, MO where the welcome mat is always out to visit our showroom of plus size Prom and party dresses for curvy teens!)
The end of the print edition is part of across-the-company cutbacks at Conde Nast, Teen Vogue's publisher. Conde Nast, based in New York City, is trying to rebuild a media company focused on digital content rather than on printed magazines.
Prom Gowns
Every Spring we always look forward to Teen Vogue's Prom issue. That's where you could find fabulous photography featuring Prom gowns styled like no where else. Who else but Teen Vogue's magically creative staff could pull off an alternative Prom look like a white mini dress trimmed in feathers with black lace up boots and black biker jacket?
We just must give kudos to Teen Vogue for photographing curvy teens in jaw-dropping plus size Prom dresses at a time when other publications steered clear of promoting curvy teens as glamorous fashionistas.
For Prom, you could also count on Teen Vogue stylists to capture the glitz and glam of the big night with surprise alternatives to a the traditional frock. What a fashion vision to suggest gold sequin harem pants, a lame pleated mini skirt and cropped sweater with a sequin long skirt as looks to stand out in the crowd.
Proud History in Print
Teen Vogue magazine outlasted a long list of other teen publications that had already folded including Teen Prom, YM, CosmoGirl! and Elle Girl. It had been a great 14-year run since the magazine launched in 2003 as a little sister publication of Vogue magazine. Teen Vogue made publishing history as the first title from Condé Nast not aimed at adults.
At its peak in 2005, Teen Vogue's circulation climbed to 1.5 million. But the award-winning magazine's reach has been steadily slipping since then. By 2016, the title had been reduced to just four issues a year.
In the first six months of 2017, single copy sales dropped drastically by 50 percent. During the same period, the website exploded reaching almost eight million viewers in January 2017.
The publication appeared to be on life-support so it was not a shock to anyone that the publisher pulled the plug on the print edition. (It didn't make the news any easier to take!)
Despite it's name, researchers say the magazine was not for teen only drawing readers in the 18 to 24- yea- old age bracket.
It's unclear whether Elaine Welteroth, Teen Vogue's editor-in-chief, will stay on. We can only hope so! Under her leadership, the magazine in recent years has boldly branched out from fashion and beauty to dig deep into politics, gender issues and reproductive rights. She has a strong start keeping Teen Vogue fans with 90K followers on Instagram. We wish her - and everyone working on Teen Vogue digital - a world of luck!
