D&AD

The July 2008 subscriber’s cover of 'Elle' was a first for a commercial magazine. A full-length black-and-white image is usually anathema to a glossy title, but Creative Director Marissa Bourke allowed for the image of Sienna Miller to make the impact, rather than a jumble of cover lines. This cover proves to readers that 'Elle' is an edgy, modern magazine, unafraid to take sartorial risks – exactly what the fashion-buying audience want from this style bible. Subscriber covers, which relate to the newsstand version but demonstrate further fashion focus, are a resounding success: 99.9 per cent of subscribers elect to receive them rather than the newsstand version.