Nova

Ohmagod! How could a magazine deteriorate so much in such a short space of time? I never read the original Nova (being about -15 years old then), but from what I heard of it and the calibre of its groundbreaking articles and editorial, I am deeply embarrassed for whoever thought it would be a clever idea to bring it back. Nova is a glossy women's magazine, aimed roughly at the 18-30 age group. It bases its editorial around fashion, with a few burning issues, entertainment reviews, and lifestyle stories thrown in for good measure. I bought the first issue of the new Nova, and was only a little disappointed. Here was a magazine that promised ...

Can the trendiest magazine of the sixties really translate itself to the noughties? I recently bought a 30 year-old copy of Nova (from a fantastic retro shop in Greenwich called Flying Duck if you're interested) - all I can say is that women must have been much more easily pleased then. The only thing that struck me was the main fashion spread, which wouldn't have looked out of place in the February 2001 issue. (All this is not related to my opinion of the new Nova by the way, tis but relevant trivia). They re-released Nova early in 2000 with a series of TV ads showing groovy young cats throwing eggs at each other. I'm still not sure where they were ...

Nova magazine was first introduced to an unsuspecting public in the sixties. Until then, women’s magazines had assumed all their readers wanted was a nice recipe, a nice knitting pattern, a nice romantic story (involving secretaries untying their hair to become suddenly visible to the boss: “Why, Miss Jones, you’re bee-yoo-tiful!”) and perhaps a few tips on pleasing (or getting) your husband. Before you could say ‘cliché’, Nova burst onto the scene with articles on homosexuality, racism and abortion. Standard fare for magazines these days, but then it was a revolution happening at a newsagent’s near you. Their fashion ...