![Gazette du Bon Ton. Art, modes & frivolités (Croquis de modes) [edited by Lucien Vogel]. Paris, Emile Lévy, November 1912-June 1914, January-June 1920. 23 issues in 4 volumes. Photo © Sotheby's](https://images.prismic.io/barnebys/003cf74d-4ca2-492b-b918-8b66777e054d_Gazette+du+Bon+Ton.+Art_+modes+%26+frivolite%CC%81s+%28Croquis+de+modes%29+%5Bherausgegeben+von+Lucien+Vogel%5D.+Paris%2C+Emile+Le%CC%81vy%2C+November+1912-Juni+1914%2C+Januar-Juni+1920.+23+Ausgaben+in+4+Ba%CC%88nden.+Foto+%C2%A9+Sotheby%27s+.webp?auto=compress,format)
The Gazette du Bon Ton. Art, Modes & Frivolités was a French fashion magazine published between 1912 and 1925 in Europe as well as the United States (there as Gazette du Bon Genre). Its purpose was to establish fashion as another art movement. Exclusive contracts were signed with the great couturiers of the time such as Paul Poiret, Charles Frederick Worth and Jeanne Paquin after a strict selective process. The fashion drawings were complemented by often ironic essays on fashion written by writers, historians and people from the art scene.
See also: 'The Fashion Bible’: A History of Vogue Magazine
The founder and editor of the Gazette du Bon Ton was Lucien Vogel (1886-1954), who had previously worked for other women's magazines such as Femina or La Vie Heureuse.
See also: Illustrating Fashion: The Work of Georges Barbier
The Gazette presented fashion drawings by the most famous draughtsmen of the Art Deco era, printed for the magazine in a stencil technique. The drawings were by Erté, André Édouard Marty, George Barbier and Pierre Brissaud, among others. The models were always depicted in an interesting environment or in the midst of a lively scene.
See also: Louise Dahl-Wolfe: The Mother of Fashion Photography
One thing that distinguished the Gazette from other big fashion magazines like Les Modes, Harper's Bazaar or Vogue was the way it was distributed. The magazine, which was published ten times a year, required a subscription that cost about 100 francs a year (about £340 today), and issues could not be purchased without it. The significant cost combined with the exclusive selection of fashion designers and sketches printed on fine paper made it clear that the Gazette du Bon Ton was tailored to a wealthy readership.
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The Gazette du Bon Ton ceased publication between 1915 and 1920 because of the First World War. In 1921, Lucien Vogel sold it to the Condé Nast publishing house, which had already taken over Vogue a few years earlier. But the Gazette, unfortunately, was only given four more years, its last issue appearing in 1925.