Vanity Teen

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Vanity Teen is an independent fashion and youth culture magazine founded in London in 2009 by Barcelona-based photographer Toni Pérez, Zaragoza-based photographer Victor Soria, and graphic designer Miguel Saburido. The publication focuses on fashion, photography, youth culture, emerging talent, music, and contemporary creativity.^[3]

Pérez, who was already involved in teenage fashion projects, contacted Saburido after becoming interested in his graphic design work. Saburido, who was 16 years old at the time, began working with Pérez on the first issue of Vanity Teen in late 2008. The first issue was released digitally in early 2009.^[4][5]

In March 2012, after three years and 12 issues, Vanity Teen announced its first print edition, which became available internationally from May 2012.^[6][7]

On 1 November 2014, Costa Rican photographer Luis Alonso Murillo, who had originally joined the magazine in 2011, became deputy editor during the launch of the magazine’s new website.^[8]

During the following years, Vanity Teen developed an international editorial presence, with London and New York becoming important creative and production hubs for the publication. The magazine continued to produce fashion editorials, photography projects, interviews and coverage around the major international fashion capitals.

In February 2022, Aedan Juvet joined the team as the magazine’s K-pop editorial director,^[9] spearheading various features and cover stories with groups including Zerobaseone, Le Sserafim, and more for few seasons.^[1]

Since 2023, Italian journalist and fashion editor Luca Imbimbo has played a pivotal role in shaping the global editorial direction of Vanity Teen, taking the lead in its ongoing digital transformation and redefining the magazine’s contemporary identity. Under his direction, the publication has placed a stronger emphasis on its digital platform, while further developing its unconventional, culturally driven and Gen Z-oriented approach to fashion, youth culture and emerging creativity. Imbimbo’s work has been instrumental in strengthening Vanity Teen’s position as a distinctive independent media platform, combining fashion journalism with contemporary culture and a digital-first editorial perspective.^[10]

Following a period of operations based in the United States, Vanity Teen returned to Europe in September 2026, establishing its headquarters in Paris, France. The new headquarters is located near Canal Saint-Martin, in one of the city’s longstanding areas of contemporary youth culture, creative communities and independent artistic activity. The move marked a renewed European positioning for the publication, reflecting the growing importance of Paris, London and Milan within its editorial and production activities, while maintaining its international connections to New York, Los Angeles and other global creative centres.^[11]

As of September 2026, Vanity Teen operates as a digital-first international publication headquartered in Paris, with its editorial activity spanning fashion, youth culture, photography, music, emerging talent and contemporary creative communities across Europe, the United States and Asia.^[12]

Summarize Fact Check

Since its foundation, Vanity Teen has focused on contemporary youth culture through fashion, photography, emerging talent, music and visual culture. Its early editorial identity was closely connected to teenage fashion and independent photography, with the magazine providing a platform for young models, photographers, designers and other emerging creatives. Over time, its scope expanded to include interviews, fashion editorials, cultural features, film, music and coverage of youth-oriented creative communities.

During its print period, the magazine developed an international editorial approach, combining fashion photography and long-form visual stories with interviews and profiles of emerging and established figures from fashion, entertainment and contemporary culture. Its editorial activity increasingly connected different creative centres, particularly in Europe, the United States and Asia.

As the media landscape shifted toward digital publishing and social media, Vanity Teen underwent a period of significant transformation. The increasing dominance of digital platforms, changing audience behaviour and the broader challenges facing independent print media led the publication to reassess its editorial and publishing model. Rather than maintaining print publication alongside an expanding digital operation, the magazine decided to temporarily suspend its print edition for a period of two years, allowing resources and editorial development to be concentrated on its digital platform.

The digital transition involved a substantial expansion of the publication’s online editorial output, including fashion editorials, digital covers, interviews, photography, music and cultural features, as well as content connected to emerging models, artists, performers and other young creative voices. The publication also expanded its presence across social media and developed new digital-native formats intended to reflect the speed, diversity and changing consumption patterns of contemporary youth culture.

Since 2023, under the editorial direction of Italian journalist and fashion editor Luca Imbimbo, the digital transformation has become a central part of Vanity Teen’s strategy. The publication has increasingly positioned itself as a digital-first platform, while maintaining its original emphasis on unconventional fashion imagery and emerging creativity. Its editorial coverage has expanded across international fashion weeks, youth culture, nightlife, music, cinema, entertainment and contemporary visual culture, with an increased focus on Gen Z audiences and emerging talent.

The temporary suspension of print was conceived as a period of digital repositioning rather than an abandonment of the magazine’s print identity. Following the three-year digital-focused period, Vanity Teen is preparing to return to print with a renewed publishing model. Details concerning the new print edition are expected to be announced before the end of 2026.

Some models and people who have been featured in Vanity Teen covers and editorials include Eitan Bernath, Ash Stymest, Barrett Pall, Luke Worrall, Nick Hissom, RJ King, Francisco Lachowski, Cole Mohr, Marlon Teixeira, Cameron Dallas and more.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

In early 2021, Vanity Teen announced the launch of a new magazine oriented to the Chinese market called "Vanity Teen China, young attitude" featuring some of the newest emerging talents from the fashion and media industry in China,^[18] such as X Nine's Wu Jiacheng, Aarif Lee and Lelush.^[19]

Vanity Teen China operates in Beijing as a separate editorial entity from the main Vanity Teen publication, while maintaining an editorial direction broadly aligned with the magazine’s wider focus on fashion, youth culture, emerging talent and contemporary creativity. The China edition develops its own content and editorial activities in relation to the Chinese and Asian creative landscape while remaining connected to the broader Vanity Teen identity.^[20]