Style Before Social Media: Fifteen Fashion and Beauty Magazines from 1985 - 2005
Runway Fashion in 1998
The 1990s were a pivotal decade in the prominance of runway fashion. Supermodel culture peaked with powerful models like Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Kate Moss. According to Glamour Magazine, 1998 was the genesis of rotating fashion trends we continue to see today, including minidresses, logo-heavy looks, tiny bags, microflorals, and small symmetrical sunglasses.
This exhibit features two Canadian magazines that highlighted 1998 runway fashion in special holiday issues. OK! and N Magazine covered fashion, beauty trends, and the advent of technology in the aesthetics space. These magazine editions are not regular monthly issues, but are special holiday issues that cover the year's fashion seasons, iconic catwalk moments, and ways for consumers to recreate runway looks at home.
Cover of OK! Fashion Magazine 1998.
OK! (1998)
Northern & Shell Network Ltd, a British publishing group, began printing OK! Magazine in 1993 as a celebrity monthly. In October 2006, OK! became a weekly title focusing on royal and celebrity news. The magazine’s scope covers celebrity lifestyle and fashion, catering to women in their thirties.
The special issue of OK! Magazine in the Sumir Husni Collection is the brand’s first ever “complete catwalk guide.” It highlights runway photographs and trends from the catwalks of 1998 in the fashion-forward cities of London, Milan, Paris, and New York City.Then, fashion editor Helen Tayler helps readers recreate catwalk fashions with off-runway tips and tricks.
OK! remains the world’s biggest celebrity lifestyle magazine, with editions in various languages appearing in 20 countries. An American edition began circulating in 2005 after the magazine’s British success, then American Media Inc. bought OK! USA from Northern & Shell in 2011.
In 2022, the magazine ceased publishing its weekly print edition after 17 years of publication. Because celebrity weeklies rely on commuters purchasing the publication in checkout aisles and at gas stations, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a drop in readership and sales. Occasional special issues and the magazine’s online website continue to publish content.
Cover of N Magazine 1998.
N Magazine Vol. 1, No. 2 (1998)
N Magazine was a fashion magazine created by Nygård International, a Canadian clothing brand founded by Peter Nygård in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The company was the largest producer of women’s apparel in the country.
Both the magazine and the company used the slogan “Where Fashion Meets Technology,” being early adopters of electronic purchase-order systems, enterprise software, and Microsoft frameworks. While the company as a whole focused on clothing, N Magazine’s scope covered both fashion and beauty trends.
The fall/holiday 1998 issue of N Magazine featured American actress Kim Basinger on the front cover. Basinger began her career as a model and switched to acting in 1976. By the publication of her N Magazine cover, she had starred in The Natural, 9 ½ Weeks, Batman, and L.A. Confidential, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1997. Thus, she was at the peak of her career when donning the cover of the second issue of N Magazine.
The longevity of N Magazine is unclear. In 2020, Nygård International filed for Chapter15 bankruptcy after founder Peter Nygård was accused and convicted of sex trafficking.