One of our most favorite guilty pleasures is a magazine read. After hearing Charlotte Moss' lecturer a few weeks ago, we can not stop thinking about what it would have been like to have been around when Fleur Cowles' Flair Magazine was in publication. We thought all of you paper junkies would appreciate some good research on one of the most extravagant and avant-garde magazines ever published.
Fleur Cowles was born Florence Freidman, in New Jersey. She married several times and had various jobs in the advertising and publishing world during her early career. Cowles first gained notoriety as associate editor of Look Magazine in the late 1940's . Throughout her life, this creative and ambitious woman traveled extensively and networked with the who's who of the day.
Cowles' most defining and outstanding achievement was the publication of Flair. This highly unique publication covered all the subjects that interested its editor: fashion, design, travel, entertainment, literature and art. During its 12 months of publication, Flair published works by the Duchess of Windsor, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, Gypsy Rose Lee, Tennessee Williams and many more notable cultural influencers. Not only was the magazine's content enlightened and provocative, but its lavish design was like nothing ever seen before. The signature cover had a die-cut hole in it's center which gave the readers a tease of the feast that lay inside. The publication's extravagance brought abut it's demise. Each issue cost more than two dollars to publish and sold for fifty cents and issue. Despite the magazine's short lived-life, it's cultural impact continues to this day.
Fleur Cowles was born Florence Freidman, in New Jersey. She married several times and had various jobs in the advertising and publishing world during her early career. Cowles first gained notoriety as associate editor of Look Magazine in the late 1940's . Throughout her life, this creative and ambitious woman traveled extensively and networked with the who's who of the day.
Cowles' most defining and outstanding achievement was the publication of Flair. This highly unique publication covered all the subjects that interested its editor: fashion, design, travel, entertainment, literature and art. During its 12 months of publication, Flair published works by the Duchess of Windsor, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau, Gypsy Rose Lee, Tennessee Williams and many more notable cultural influencers. Not only was the magazine's content enlightened and provocative, but its lavish design was like nothing ever seen before. The signature cover had a die-cut hole in it's center which gave the readers a tease of the feast that lay inside. The publication's extravagance brought abut it's demise. Each issue cost more than two dollars to publish and sold for fifty cents and issue. Despite the magazine's short lived-life, it's cultural impact continues to this day.
We know you have seen this image a time or two before but this dazzling lady against a blue sofa and over sized lamp never gets old!
3 comments:
What fun! Flair indeed!
Awesome!
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What a stylish lady she is. Picnicking with Cary Grant must have been a dream.
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