Influential British magazine The Face was started in May 1980 by Nick Logan out of his publishing house Wagadon. Logan had previously created titles such as Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s during one of its most successful periods.
The magazine, often referred to as the "'80s fashion bible", tried to keep a finger on the pulse of youth culture for over two decades. Although its best selling period was in the mid 1990s under editor Richard Benson .
In the late 1980s it contained an article suggesting that Jason Donovan was gay and in consequence of the subsequent court case it needed the readers' donations to pay libel damages. In 1999, Wagadon was sold to the massive publishers EMAP.
Notable names associated with the magazine were designer & typographer Neville Brody (Art Director, 1981-86), photographer Juergen Teller and writer Jon Savage.
By its May 2004 closure the format had become stale, there were too many competitors, sales had declined and advertising revenues had consequently reduced. The publishers EMAP closed the title, in order to concentrate resources on its more successful magazines.