Harper's Bazaar (stylized as Harper's BAZAAR) is an American monthly fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled Harper's Bazar. Hearst has owned and published the magazine since 1913, originally published by Harper & Brothers.
The magazine is the world's oldest operating women's fashion magazine and one of the first fashion magazines to be published in the United States. Its name change to Harper's Bazaar was filed on December 30, 1930.
Harper's Bazaars corporate offices are located in the Hearst Tower, 300 West 57th Street or 959 Eighth Avenue, near Columbus Circle in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Background
Harper's Bazaar is an American fashion magazine. The magazine was founded in 1867 by Harper & Brothers as Harper's Bazar (and has since been operating as Harper's Bazaar since 1929); it is the oldest fashion magazine still in operation and was based on and originally was the American version of the German publication Der Bazar.
According to the publication's current editor-in-chief, Samira Nasr, "Harper's BAZAAR uses fashion as a way to explore the forces shaping culture today and to tell the most urgent stories of the moment." While the publisher and owner, Hearst, describes it as "the style resource for women at every age, showcasing visionary stylists, photographers, and designers with authority and insider insight."
The magazine has achieved notability for its innovative art direction under art director Alexey Brodovitch (who worked with the publication from 1934 to 1958). Norman Norell called it "a photographer's magazine" in reference to its innovative photography. is regarded as turning it back into a fashion publishing industry powerhouse.
Circulation
{| class="wikitable"
|+Total circulation
|Year
!2016
!2017
!2018
!2019
!2020
!2021
!2022
!2023
!2024
|-
!Circulation
|767,297
|761,891
|768,121
|762,088
|739,338
|730,257
|741,653
|740,242
|740,613
|}
Editors
{| class="wikitable"
!Editor
!Start year
!End year
!Ref.
|-
|Mary Louise Booth
|1867
|1889
|
|-
|Elizabeth Jordan
|1900
|1913
|
|-
|William Martin Johnson
|1913
|1914
|
|-
|Hartford Powell
|1914
|1916
|
|-
|John Chapman Hilder
|1916
|1920
|
|-
|Henry Blackman Sell
|1920
|1926
|
|-
|Nancy White
|1958
|1971
|
|-
|James Brady
|1971
|1972
|
|-
|Anthony Mazzola
|1972
|1992
|
|-
|Liz Tilberis
|1992
|1999
|
|-
|Glenda Bailey
|2001
|2020
|
|-
|Samira Nasr
|2020
|present
|
|}
Sustainability
In December 2025, Harper's Bazaar's parent company, Hearst Magazines, announced a company-wide ban on the promotion of fur in all its editorial content and advertising. This policy applies to Harper's Bazaar and its international editions, aligning with a growing industry shift toward sustainability and animal welfare.
History
The beginnings of Bazar (1867–1913)
The journal had been inspired by the German Der Bazar (meaning "The Bazaar"), which was a weekly fashion journal published in Berlin, Germany. Fletcher then decided to publish the magazine himself; however, upon hearing this, the brothers changed their minds and decided to publish it together.thumb|Front cover illustrating hairstyles, Vol. I, No. 49 (October 3, 1868)The publication debuted on November 2, 1867, and was published by Harper & Brothers, based in New York City and edited by Mary Louise Booth. Wilkie Collins, George Eliot,
In 1901 the magazine's format made the transition from a weekly to a monthly magazine and changed its format/size, partly because of the publisher's financial struggles. Brodovitch is also remembered for his use of white space and cropped layouts. Truman Capote said about Brodovitch, "What Dom Pérignon was to champagne ... so [Brodovitch] has been to ... photographic design and editorial layout."
One of his assistants at Bazaar was Tony Lane, who later became the art director of Rolling Stone.
Brodovitch also introduced photographers. Richard Avedon, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Irving Penn, and more were at the magazine along with the artists Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, and Andy Warhol. Richard Avedon was also immortalized in the film, inspiring the character Dick Avery (played by Fred Astaire). Avedon shot many iconic photographs for the magazine (working from 1945 as a staff photographer), including models roller skating in the Place de la Concorde, Dovima with circus elephants, and more glamorous editorials with large sets.
Guadeloupean model and dancer Ady Fidelin became the first Black model to be featured in a major American fashion magazine when she was featured in Harper's Bazaar in September 1937.
Following the Second World War, Junior Bazaar was launched, aiming to be a competitor to Mademoiselle and Seventeen. Derujinsky was a pioneer juxtaposing haute couture dresses with deserts, junkyards, fairgrounds, and airports, with the comparison between Avedon and Derujinsky being "Avedon shot dresses and clothes; Gleb shot women living in them." They shot in eleven countries in 28 days.
The February 1959 issue featured an editorial with Chinese-American model China Machado (often erroneously reported as the cover, which is actually the December 1959 issue with Dovima); she was one of the first people of color to be featured in a major American fashion magazine. The publisher (Hearst) was against the inclusion of Machado, believing that Southern subscribers would quit their subscriptions. She later became the magazine's senior fashion editor and then fashion director.
Under Anthony Mazzola (1972–1992)
Nonnie Moore was hired as fashion editor in 1980, having served in the same post at Mademoiselle. The New York Times noticed the changes she made at Harper's Bazaar, highlighting how the magazine had been "looking a little dowdy" but that Moore had "noticeably sharpened the magazine's fashion [perspective]" by showing "brighter, younger, and more stylish" looks, complimenting her use of "young and exciting fashion photographers," such as Oliviero Toscani.
Era of elegance (1992–2001)
Liz Tilberis was appointed editor-in-chief in 1992; she was previously the editor-in-chief of British Vogue, replacing Anna Wintour in 1987.
Harper's Bazaar worldwide
Harper's Bazaar operates 31 editions around the world, as of 2026:
- Harper's Bazaar Arabia (in Arabic and English, since 2007 | Edited by Olivia Philips)
- Harper's Bazaar Australia/New Zealand (in English, from 1984 to 1990 and then from 1998 to 2020, since 2021)
- Harper's Bazaar Brasil (in Portuguese, since 2011 | Edited by Patricia Carta)
- 时尚芭莎 Harper's Bazaar China (in Simplified Chinese, since 2002 | Edited by Simona Sha)
- Harper's Bazaar Česká Republika (in Czech, since 1997 | Edited by Nora Grundová)
- Harper's Bazaar France (in French, from 1983 to 1991; since 2023 | Edited by Olivier Lalanne)
- Harper's Bazaar Germany (in Germany, from 1963 to 1970 and then from 1985 to 1992; since 2013 | Edited by Kerstin Schneider)
- Harper's Bazaar Greece (in Greek, since 1996 | Edited by Eleni Pateraki)
- Harper's Bazaar Indonesia (in Indonesian, since 2000 | Edited by Ria Lirungan)
- Harper's Bazaar Japan (in Japanese, since 2000 | Edited by Maiko Matsuda)
- Harper's Bazaar Korea (in Korean, since 1996 | Edited by In-Ae Hwang)
- Harper's Bazaar en Español (in Spanish, since 1980 | Edited by María José Guzmán)
- Harper's Bazaar Malaysia (in English, since 2003 | Edited by Aziz Draim)
- Harper's Bazaar Polska (in Polish, from 2013 to 2019; relaunching in 2026 | Edited by Zuzanna Krzątała)
- Harper's Bazaar Qatar (in English, since 2022 | Edited by Bianca Bonomi)
- Harper's Bazaar Taiwan (in Traditional Chinese, since 1989 | Edited by Kora Hsieh)
- Harper's Bazaar Ukraine (in Ukrainian, since 2008 | Edited by Iryna Tatarenko)
- Harper's Bazaar United Kingdom (in English, since 1929 | Edited by Lydia Slater)
- Harper's Bazaar Bulgaria (in Bulgarian, from 2008)
- Harper's Bazaar Chile (in Spanish, from 2015 to 2019)
- Harper's Bazaar Colombia (in Spanish, from 1980 to 2019)
- Harper's Bazaar Peru (in Spanish, from 2014 to 2019)
- Harper's Bazaar Romania (in Romanian, from 2007 to 2021)
- Harper's Bazaar Russia (in Russian, from 1996 to 2022)
- Harper's Bazaar Venezuela (in Spanish, from 1980 to 2018)
Harper's Bazaar UK
The Harper's Bazaar UK edition was first published in London in 1929. In November 1970, New York City-based Hearst Communications amalgamated it with Queen magazine (which dated from 1862) to form Harpers & Queen. The magazine was widely perceived to be focused on British "high society" and the lives of socialites and the British aristocracy. In March 2006, it was renamed Harper's Bazaar, bringing it in line with its international sister titles, and repositioning it as a more celebrity-oriented fashion magazine. Harper's Bazaar UK has a long history of literary contributions from leading writers, including Evelyn Waugh, Henry James, Thomas Hardy, and Virginia Woolf. It maintains that connection today, with recent articles written by Ali Smith, Jeanette Winterson, and Margaret Atwood, and runs its own Literary Salon.
Harper's Bazaar worldwide editors
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Country/region
!Circulation dates
!Editor-in-chief
!Start year
!End year
|-
| rowspan="14" |United Kingdom (Harper's Bazaar UK)
| rowspan="14" |1929–present
|Joyce Reynolds
|1929
|1945
|-
|Anne Scott-James
|1945
|1951
|-
|Eileen Dickson
|1951
|1986
|-
|Nicholas Coleridge
|1986
|1989
|-
|Vicki Woods
|1990
|1993
|-
|Fiona Macpherson
|1993
|2000
|-
|Lucy Yeomans
|2000
|2012
|-
|Justine Picardie
|2012
|2019
|-
|Lydia Slater
|2020
|present
|-
| rowspan="4" |Germany (Harper's Bazaar Deutsch)
|1963–1970
|Merlene Zollikofer-Wylie
|
|
|-
|1983–1992
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2013–present
|Margit J. Mayer
|2013
|2014
|-
|Kerstin Schneider
|José Antonio Plaza
|1967
|Cesare E. Beltrami
|1968
|
|-
|Maria Pia Chiodoni Beltrami
|
|1974
|-
|Catherine Murray di Montezemolo
|
|
|-
|Giuseppe Della Schiava
|
|1997
|-
| rowspan="2" |2022–present
|Daria Veledeeva
|2022
|2024
|-
|Massimo Russo
|2024
|Lizzette Katan
|1983
|1986
|-
|Giuseppe Della Schiava
|
|
|-
|2023–present
|Olivier Lalanne
|2023
|present
|-
| rowspan="10" |Australia, New Zealand (Harper's Bazaar Australia/New Zealand)
| rowspan="2" |1984–1990
|Lee Tulloch
|1984
|1985
|-
|Alexandra Joel
|1988
|1990
|-
| rowspan="6" |1998–2020
|Karin Upton Baker
|1998
|2001
|-
|Alison Veness
|2001
|2008
|-
|Jamie Huckbody
|2008
|2009
|-
|Edwina McCann
|2009
|2012
|-
|Kellie Hush
|2012
|2018
|-
|Eugenie Kelly
|2018
|2020
|-
| rowspan="2" |2021–present
|Eugenie Kelly
|2021
|2025
|-
| rowspan="3" |Russia (Harper's Bazaar)
| rowspan="3" |1996–2022
|2000
|-
|Shahri Amirkhanova
|
|
|-
|Daria Veledeeva
|2009
|2022
|-
| rowspan="2" |China (Harper's Bazaar China)
| rowspan="2" |2002–present
|Su Mang
|2002
|2018
|-
|Simona Sha
|2018
|present
|-
| rowspan="2" |Malaysia (Harper's Bazaar Malaysia)
|2003–2020
|Natasha Kraal
|2003
|2020
|-
|2021–present
|Abdul Aziz Draim
|Rachel Sharp
|2007
|2009
|-
|Louise Nichol
|2009
|2018
|-
|Salma Awwad
|2019
|2020
|-
|Olivia Philips
|2020
|present
|-
| rowspan="5" |India (Harper's Bazaar India)
| rowspan="5" |2008–present
|Sujata Assomull Sippy
|2008
|2012
|-
|Nishat Fatima
|2012
|2016
|-
|Nonita Kalra
|2016
|2020
|-
|Nandini Bhalla
|2020
|2023
|-
|Rasna Bhasin
|2023
|present
|-
| rowspan="3" |Ukraine (Harper's Bazaar Ukraine)
| rowspan="2" |2008–2021
|Natalia Guzenko
|2008
|2014
|-
|Anna Zemskova
|2014
|2021
|-
|2023–present
|Kateryna Popova
|2023
|present
|-
|Argentina (Harper's Bazaar Argentina)
|2011–2017
|Ana Torrejón
|2011
|Patricia Carta
|2011
|present
|-
|Saudi Arabia (Harper's Bazaar سعودي)
|2021–present
|Olivia Philips
|2021
|present
|-
|Ecuador (Harper's Bazaar Ecuador)
|2025–present
|Daniela Segovia Velasteguí
|2025