The publishers Conde Nast International write: It’s not by chance that Vanity Fair chose US star Scarlett Johansson (photographed by Mark Seliger) to cover its first issue. Only she can embody the «glossy on the outside, gritty on the inside» spirit of the magazine. As a sexy Hollywood icon and lover of France, elegant and spiritual, Scarlett is just as convincing in art house films as in blockbusters.
She is the ideal transatlantic cover star.
Investigative journalism is in Vanity Fair’s DNA. This month, three famous stories are told exclusively to the magazine by figures who have not - or who have barely - spoken on the matter until now. The former butler to the Bettencourt family tells for the first time how and why he decided to make secret recordings of the conversations of France’s richest woman. King of Steel Lakshmi Mittal reveals a new version of his negotiations with the French administration and uncanny forger Wolfgang Beltracchi, imprisoned in Germany, reveals how he duped leading experts on Georges Braque and Fernand Leger.
Vanity Fair also turns the spotlight on three unknown stories. In Moscow, Xenia Sobtchak went from a TV reality show to the anti-Putin opposition. In Tibet, Nicholas Vreeland swapped his New York club gear for saffron robes and a place at the right hand of the Dalai Lama. In Paris, jeweller Joel Arthur Rosenthal, known as JAR, has made secrecy his trademark.
Vanity Fair also brings big-name bylines with original opinions into the fray, including this month journalist Catherine Nay, philosopher Alain Badiou, Goncourt winner Jean-Jacques Schuhl and Atiq Rahimi as our special guests.
For Vanity Fair, fashion is also a way of telling stories in pictures and words. In this issue, photographer Max Vadukul represents the relationship between Balthus canvases and the Fall/Winter collections. The flashback section reintroduces readers to legendary people and places, starting with Les Bains Douches, a mythical Paris nightclub that will become a luxury hotel.
A glossy monthly with a unique and singular positioning, Vanity Fair is today a high-profile international brand, with a subtly balanced content mix that marries investigation with glamour, information with aesthetics.
2013 marks not only 100 years of Vanity Fair in the US, but also the launch of this new concept in France, June 26, 2013. Vanity Fair remains faithful to its original philosophy, with a healthy dose of French touch.
Resolutely of its time, Vanity Fair represents a full, multi-channel editorial offering. Right from its launch, the magazine will be available in print, web and tablet versions, along with an enriched app. Vanity Fair aims to meet the expectations of a French readership looking for an innovative editorial offering that can propose a different way of reading the news, through content that is at once serious and entertaining.
