First look: Miss Vogue

**SPOILER ALERT** Ding dong! The inaugural issue of Miss Vogue has been published and my verdict is in. First impressions: it looks like Teen Vogue! I was expecting a full-size issue and something thinner, so it’s good to see a perfect-bound spine. I was totally not surprised to see Cara on the cover – I expected her or Edie (P.S, thank you Vogue for putting a model on the cover).

The overall design is suitably high-energy, colour-packed and graphic and thankfully not too young. Miss Vogue is obviously for the sophisticated teen. Content-wise, it’s also as I expected. It’s low on reality stars and big on London hipster types (Pixie Geldof, Henry Holland, Cara… you get the picture) and the magazine is put together by the Vogue team so it’s very ‘friends-of-the-brand’. Although there are a few non-fashion features, this is really a fashion and shopping publication. Of course the fashion is great…

The main fashion story is a love letter to Cara – think Vogue-meets-Glamour styling (by Fran Burns), with quirky customised pieces and Angelo Penetta’s vibrant photography. The other main fashion shoot is a bright sportswear story (styled by Lucinda Chambers, shot by Toby Knott) using mostly diffusion and bridge brands, unlike Teen Vogue which frequently features mainline Prada and Chanel. There’s also a shopping page shot on cool interns featuring everything from a £20 Next clutch to a £60 Lanvin pen and a £330 Joie parka. It definitely feels like they’ve tried to be (relatively) mindful of affordability…



The ‘My Space’ story looks just like the regular page that Jenny Dyson used to compile in Teen Vogue, featuring creative daughter-ofs in their fabulous messy bedrooms. The Miss Vogue version has Agatha Chapman (daughter of Dinos), Scarlett Curtis (daughter of Emma Freud and Richard Curtis) and Olympia Campbell (sister of Edie, daughter of Sophie Hicks) shot by Bella Howard. As a nosy curtain-twitcher, I love this feature…

I also love the feature on global teenagers and the beauty how-tos which feel fun and adventurous but accessible. To be honest, you can probably get a lot of this content in other publications – especially the free high street ones from Asos, H&M, Topshop and Monki. But what these have that those don’t is the magic X Factor, or should that be V Factor, the unerring Vogue eye and stamp of authority.

As per the Vogue Festival, this looks to be an exercise in grabbing the eyeballs of the next-gen Vogue customer, although no-one has given me a straight answer to whether Miss Vogue is permanent or not. I guess it’s a case of wait and see. There is some good stuff here, produced to exacting standards, if slightly predictable and commercial. I hope it does continue and that they are able to push it a little more. Then things will really get interesting…