W (magazine)

W is a monthly American fashion magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Considered one of the most fashionable monthly publications, W is filled with ads for high fashion houses and rivals Vogue and Vanity Fair for sophistication and style.

This enormous magazine–it is ten inches wide and thirteen inches tall–has grown in popularity, and can be found at many retailers in the U.S. The scope of W has always been the haute mode, initially with a focus in couture, but shifting easily into the realm of high-end women's pret-à-porter.

Many W devotees were outraged when Lindsay Lohan was featured on the April 2005 cover.citation needed]

Even more recently, W was chosen to produce and exhibit a 60-page Steven Klein portfolio of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt entitled "Domestic Bliss". The shoot was based upon Pitt's idea of the irony of the perfect American family; set in 1963, the photographs mirror the era when 1960s disillusionment was boiling under the facade of pristine 1950s suburbia.

Other controversial issues include Steven Meisel's shoot entitled A_SEXUAL REVOLUTION, in which male and female models are depicted in gender-bending styles and provocative poses. In addition, Tom Ford's shoot with Steven Klein and the subsequent article on sexuality in fashion came as a shock to some loyal readers.

Steven Klein also was the photographer for the racy photo shoot featured in the August 2007 issue, showcasing David and Victoria Beckham.

W magazine has a reader base of nearly half a million, 420,000 of which are annual subscribers. 78 percent of the magazine's readers are female and have an average household income of $82,353citation needed].

W is published by Fairchild Publications Inc. Patrick McCarthy is its chairman and editorial director. Mccarthy has previously worked for Women's Wear Daily, the sister publication of W. He is assisted by Nina Lawrence, the current vice president and publisher of W.