Demand for the July issue of normally small newsstand-circulation Vogue Italia, which generated unprecedented attention in the fashion world and beyond with its ground-breaking use of black models and editorial subjects throughout, is still going strong well into September.

Even publisher Condé Nast was taken off guard by the phenomenon, though Condé quickly responded by printing an additional 40,000 copies in late July—and also gathering and rerouting unsold copies in Italy—for distribution at sold-out newsstands and stores in the U.S. and Britain.

The U.K.’s The Guardian quoted Condé Nast International chairman Jonathan Newhouse as describing the demand for this issue of IV, which normally sells about 109,000 copies worldwide, as “unprecedented, a sensation, although that wasn't the aim.”

In the U.S., the reprint issue copies are shrink-wrapped and stickered with the words “First Reprint. The Most Wanted Issue Ever.” 

Conceived by VI editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani and shot by famed fashion photographer Steven Meisel, the issue—now dubbed the “black issue” in fashion circles—features a fold-out cover with model Liya Kebede on the front panel and fellow models Sesilee Lopez, Jourdan Dunn and Naomi Campbell on the other panels. Inside, about 100 pages were devoted to Meisel’s photographs, and other editorial pages were devoted to content focusing on black women in arts and entertainment.

The Guardian noted that the issue “is now being spoken about as a cultural watershed in fashion,” adding that its influence “might finally end the 'white-out' that has come to dominate catwalks and magazine pages.”

In the U.S., Universal News, a chain of nine independent, New York City-based stores dedicated to selling domestic and international magazines and periodicals—and the largest independent retailer of international publications in the country—confirmed the issue’s still-potent pulling power.

“This issue is hot, hot, hot,” sums up Universal VP, communications Justine Kawas. “Until this July issue, our projected year-to-date sales of Vogue Italia and its three annual special issues were coming in right on target with 2007’s average per-issue sale of 196 copies. We first received 600 copies of July, and sold out immediately. As we were bombarded with calls and in-person orders for copies, we placed a reorder to supply hundreds more copies for each store—a total reorder of nearly 4,700 additional copies. We’ve now sold more than two-thirds of those, and they’re still selling.”

In fact, Kawas reports that Condé and Universal’s supplier have decided to extend the on-sale of the issue through the presidential election in November, and that Universal will continue to “showcase” the issue even as it also features newer issues of VI. “We expect continued sales momentum for the July issue,” she says.

While Kawas notes that the seasonal fashion-awareness build-up to September’s New York Fashion Week undoubtedly added to demand for the issue, she stresses that requests and orders for copies go far beyond the fashion world. “Everyone’s been buying this,” she says. “Fashion people and modeling agencies are the tip of the iceberg.”

Based on Universal’s customer experience, Kawas believes that the impact of the social and cultural statement made by the issue was magnified by the unprecedented discussion throughout the world of both racial and women’s issues being raised by the historic firsts represented by Barack Obama’s run for the U.S. presidency and now Sarah Palin’s run for the vice presidency.

“We’d been noticing broader demand for both mainstream titles featuring the Obamas and titles covering ethnic issues,” she notes. “And now, since the VI issue, we’re already starting to see more of our existing titles—including fashion magazines, but also others—featuring black and ethnic subjects on their covers.

“In my view, for magazine retailers, the trends all point to the need to be aware of the public’s growing interest in issues relating both to ethnicity and leadership roles for women in our country,” Kawas adds.

Or, in The Guardian’s words: “Though it may seem forced to link politics with fashion, history proves that the dominant aesthetic of any era can only reflect the mood of the times.” -- KL