InStyle magazine first hit the shelves in 1994 in America. Instyle's contents is mainly fashion but with other interests such as beauty, home, celebrity lifestyle and entertainment. Although there were many popular fashion magazines available at the time, what separated Instyle from them was that they were the first to feature celebrity actors and musicians on their covers whereas most magazines were using models. This innovative move saw a change in fashion magazines. In present day, most, if not all fashion magazines have included celebrities on the cover of their magazines which shows how celebrities link closely with the fashion industry.
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| Instyle's first cover, June 1994 |
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| Current Issue, Instyle UK |
The first InStyle magazine was a June issue in 1994. It showed actress Barbra Streisand in casual clothing inside her country home. Following the success of InStyle in America, InStyle UK was launched in 2001 and has since been launched in 16 other countries. As well as the original magazine, InStyle also has brand extensions including InStyle hair and InStyle beauty. Looking at the original 1994 cover and comparing it to the latest UK edition of InStyle, you can clearly see just how far the magazine has come.
ADVERTISING
Very much like Elle Magazine, InStyle advertises both expensive and high street brands. Looking at the latest edition of the UK magazine, I found that a large majority of the adverts were the same as the ones featured in the latest edition of Elle UK. This is because the brands want to be seen in the most read magazines, and both InStyle and Elle are among the most popular.
What I found interesting about the first advertisement seen in InStyle is that it was not in fact an advert for fashion. The first two page spread is an advertisement for Lancôme Paris, a luxury cosmetics company which suggest to me that the magazine is as equally a beauty magazine as it is a fashion magazine. Throughout the magazine, many of the beauty products that are advertised come attached with free samples. The purpose of free samples is to get the consumer to try the product and then buy it so it is assumed that the sampling adverts are strategically placed because they appeal to the readers of Elle.
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| The first advert in InStyle magazine UKs current issue |
Like Elle and Vogue, a number of advertisements are seen first before the contents of the magazine however, what makes InStyle different is that high street fashion brands are featured at the front too which is normally uncommon due to the heavy price tag that comes with advertising in the front.
The main features of the adverts are fashion brands, beauty products, perfumes and perhaps quite stereotypically, chocolate. All of these things are associated closely to women which makes them appeal to the intended audience.
ARTICLES
The articles in InStyle magazine are primarily based around celebrities. Unlike Elle, which also discusses real issues with real people, InStyle focuses on celebrity culture. The articles in the latest edition of InStyle UK are kept short, with it's largest article spotlighting the celebrity on the front cover, Rita Ora.
The smaller articles in the magazine include:
Giving an insight to celebrity lifestyles.
An article called InStyle party of the year is a six page spread giving the readers information about a celebrity party showing photographs of what the celebrities wore, ate and even listened to whilst informing the readers what the best part of the evening was.
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| InStyle Magazine Uk gives an insight to celebrity events |
Advising the readers to buy things.
Throughout the magazine, the InStyle team have various pages entitled #lustlist which includes both beauty products and jewellery along with their price and retailer. What is interesting about the picks is that most of the products are featured in adverts throughout the magazine as well which indicated to me that InStyle may have been paid to recommend the brands products rather than suggesting them because they know them to be good products.
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| The #lushlist which contains expensive jewellery brands, InStyle Magazine UK |
In various articles in the magazine, the readers are told how they can be on trend by dressing like other people. A segment called 'YOUR LOOK' shows various fashion editors accompanied with fashion pieces that are similar to what the editors are wearing. What I find ironic about this article is that it is entitled 'your look' but is essentially telling the readers to dress the same as someone else.
I think overall, InStyle is based more around advertising products and using visuals to inform the audience rather than discussing things in articles. The written pieces in this magazine were short and to the point and if anything I felt that some were slightly lacking. A two page spread interview with Karl Lagerfeld consisted of just a few questions and answers which I felt, was slightly disappointing.
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| A small article on legendary fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, InStyle Magazine UK |
TARGET AUDIENCE
InStyle statistics show that the median age of the readers of InStyle is 38 years old with the majority of readers being over the age of 35. Although these are the official statics, we are able to work out the target audience from analysing the magazine itself. There are many things that contribute to working out the target audience of the magazine.
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| Audience statistics from InStyle.com, 2014 |
The first thing that conveys the target audience of the magazine, is the cover. On the front of the current UK edition is the pop star Rita Ora. Including a pop star on the cover suggests that the target audience is those interested in both music and entertainment. Rita Ora although primarily a musician is also regularly featured in many fashion magazines due to her original style and exceptional fashion sense. Fashion lovers would be aware of this when purchasing the magazine so it also shows that the audience is those with a passion for fashion.
The second thing that is a strong indication of the target audience, is the advertising. Adverts are used in magazines to entice the reader into buying goods and InStyle would only include adverts that would interest their target audience. There are a large amount of adverts in InStyle and in particular, there are a variety of adverts that show anti aging creams. Anti-aging creams would not be featured in a magazine aimed at a younger woman so this is an indication of the target audiences age. I would assume that women in their middle thirties would worry more about their skin remaining youthful. As well as the face creams, another advert featured in InStyle that suggests the audience range is a lingerie advert for Fantasie. The advert itself offers 'exquisite support' which shows that it is aimed at a more maturer woman. Another advert that I noticed twice in this magazine was for alcohol. Although we already know that this magazine's target audience is not the teenager, this type of advert makes it completely clear. Perhaps on of the more obviously indications conveying the target audience was an advert featured at the beginning on the magazine. One of the two page spreads belonged to Burberry Children. Although this is the only evidence throughout the whole magazine that the readers may have a family, it is strong enough for us to assume so taking into consideration the median age of readers.
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| InStyle Magazine UK features adverts for alcohol indicating the target audience |
Another thing that shows the target audience is the articles. The most obvious characteristic of the intended audience of InStyle would be those passionate about fashion and beauty. InStyle magazine contains information on the latest trends whilst recommending products to achieve those trends. As well as this the magazine is strongly focused on beauty and keeping the hair and skin looking young. An article that indicated both the age and lifestyle of the readers was one about going to Cornwall on holiday. Stereotypically, younger women seek holiday's abroad with excitement and nightlife. This cannot be found in idyllic places like Cornwall and so I think that these types of holidays would appeal more to an older woman.
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| An article on Cornwall suggested the target audience in InStyle Magazine UK |
Overall, I think that the target audience of InStyle is a woman in her mid thirties. She has a love for fashion and likes to keep up to date with the latest trends whilst being in the know about new products available. She is old enough to be concerned about aging but young enough to do something about it. She cares about looking after herself and wants to look good.
FASHION INFLUENCE
The overall fashion influence of this magazine is definitely trending fashion that takes into consideration the age range of the reader. Throughout the magazine, InStyle points out the wearable trends of SS15 whilst showing the readers how to wear them. The trending fashion is very much based around celebrities and how they wore them. Looking through the adverts, the fashion is more mature than it is young but there are some more eccentric outfits that would require the more confident woman to wear them. Some of the fashion shown offer a very nostalgic feel with an article on 90s flares. The influenced fashion contains both high street and expensive brands but it is clear that the more expensive fashion brands dominate the magazine.
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