Carmel Snow
Editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar from 1934 to 1958
Carmel Snow was an Irish-born American editor who led Harper's Bazaar as editor in chief from 1934 to 1958. She transformed the magazine with modern design and photography, hired Alexey Brodovitch and Diana Vreeland and is credited with naming Christian Dior's 1947 debut the New Look.
| Role | Editor in chief, Harper's Bazaar |
|---|---|
| Tenure | 1934 to 1958 |
| Previously | Fashion editor, Vogue, from 1926 |
| Born | 1887, Dalkey, Ireland |
| Died | 1961, New York |
Who was Carmel Snow?
Carmel Snow, born Carmel White in Dalkey, Ireland, in 1887, was one of the most influential fashion editors of the twentieth century. She died in New York in 1961. Her editorship of Harper's Bazaar combined fashion, art, photography and literature and set a template for the modern fashion magazine.
Career
Snow began her magazine career at Vogue. In 1921 she was introduced to editor Edna Woolman Chase and hired as an assistant fashion editor by Condé Nast, and in 1926 she became Vogue's fashion editor. In 1932 she moved to the rival Harper's Bazaar as fashion editor and in 1934 was promoted to editor in chief, a position she held until 1958. She also chaired the magazine's editorial board.
Her memoir, The World of Carmel Snow, was published in 1962, the year after her death. Her 24 years as editor in chief spanned the Depression, the Second World War and the post war revival of Paris couture.
Influence on the fashion business
Snow's greatest strength was recognising talent. Her key decisions include:
- Hiring the designer Alexey Brodovitch as art director in 1934 to give Bazaar a modern visual identity; he stayed until 1958
- Bringing Diana Vreeland to the magazine, where she served as fashion editor for more than two decades
- Persuading the photographer Martin Munkacsi to photograph a fashion model in motion in 1933, a break from static studio images
- Chairing the magazine's editorial board as well as editing it
In 1947, responding to Christian Dior's first collection, Snow is credited with exclaiming that it was a New Look. The phrase became the name of Dior's silhouette and of the post war shift in fashion it represented,.
Why it matters
Snow showed that a fashion magazine could be a creative and commercial force at the same time. By pairing designers, photographers and art directors of exceptional ability, she shaped the visual language of fashion media for decades. Many of the people she hired or promoted went on to define fashion photography and editing in the second half of the century, and her approach to discovering talent remains a model for editors today.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Carmel Snow?
Carmel Snow was an Irish-born American fashion editor who led Harper's Bazaar as editor in chief from 1934 to 1958. She previously worked at Vogue, where she became fashion editor in 1926.
Who coined the term New Look?
Carmel Snow is credited with naming Christian Dior's 1947 debut collection the New Look. The phrase came to define Dior's silhouette and the post war change in fashion.