Grazia magazine is an endless well of fashion tips and wardrobe overhauls, its up-to-the-minute with the latest looks and top trends - straight off the runway. It is an Italian, weekly women's glossy magazine. With international editions in Australia, United Kingdom, Greece, Portugal, The Netherlands, Bulgaria, Croatia and Serbia. Its British counterpart was started in 2005, to cover the market for a high class glossy magazine, but for a weekly edition rather than a monthly edition like other glossies like Vogue, ELLE and Marie Clare. Grazia magazines are styled as glossies, with a strong amount of influence of high-class celebrities, such as Angelina Jolie and supermodels like Kate Moss. Grazia is mainly a fashion inspired magazine.
The word 'Grazia' when translated means 'with grace' which relates well to the magazine as it is mainly fashion inspired. In that the aim of the magazine is obviously to encourage the readers to follow the latest trends and be up to date with the latest looks and top trends. Therefore they are encouraging you to look good - to look 'graceful'.
The publisher of Grazia is "EMAP". "EMAP" is a British media company specializing in the production of magazines, and the organization of business events and conferences. "EMAP" is an abbreviation of East Midland Allied Press- which was founded by Charles Winfrey in the late 1800's. "EMAP" also owned forty UK and Ireland local commercial radio stations. Twenty of "EMAP's" local contemporary music radio stations based across the United Kingdom were marketed as the "Big City Network". Selling more than 170,000 copies a week at £1.70 an issue, Grazia has the highest retail sales value of any womans glossy. The circulation of the title, published by EMAP, has risen by 10 per cent in the past six months. Grazia magazine has recently launched a new fashion news website. Grazia broke its first exclusive just a day after launching. Journalists at Grazia now work across both the magazine and website. The new website will give the readers the chance to interact with Grazia, adding that the team have fast become addicted to checking readers comments on news stories. Head Editor added: “We have always been frustrated we’ve never been able to share that with the readers and get into their heads. They’re very fashion savvy, articulate, intelligent women, so we trust them to go mad and tell us what they think.”
Grazia magazine is targeted at middle class fashion inspired women. The articles in Grazia are detailed and not just gossipy for example magazines like Heat and NOW are. The adverts included in the magazine are of expensive clothing, and more expensive brands than that of which would be shown in a weekly gossip magazine. Suggested it is targeted at more middle class women.
The celebrity shown on the front cover of the magazine is Angelina Jolie. Who is an extremely well known high rated celebrity. The image used of her is a posed image suggesting her happiness, which obviously relates well to the article that the magazine is advertising as it is in relation to her being pregnant. The facial expression of Angelina is an over the top smile which again exaggerates the good news that the magazine is about to reveal inside. Angelina Jolie I feel has been chosen for the front cover as she relates to the target audience. As previously discovered that the target audience of Grazia is middle class woman, I feel that middle class women are able to relate to Angelina as she is not only a fashionable, A-listed celebrity but she is also a Mum. Angelina is around the age of the type of readers that read Grazia, therefore they can relate to her easier than they would perhaps a teenager being published on the front cover of the magazine. It makes the magazine more appealing to the audience.
The front cover also includes an preview of '45 figure fixing styles' one of the articles that is featured in the magazine. By advertising a fashion article on the front page this suggests to us as readers that the magazine is fashion inspired, and therefore will attract the correct target audience which is keen fashion followers. The colours used on the front page of the magazine are mainly black, white and red. Which are frequently used by Grazia. I feel that these particular colours are used as they are eye catching yet classy colours. Grazia does not use bright colours like many other gossip magazines, as it is a more middle class magazine, and wants to give off a stylish classy look. The presentation of the magazine overall gives a more expensive effect. It does this by the use of colour, fonts, layout and images.
