In 1990, Joel was hired by the legendary former editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Grace Mirabella, to become art director of the new flagship magazine she had launched for Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Aged just 24, he was the youngest person ever to be an art director of one of the big New York fashion magazines. Working for the most demanding fashion editor in the world on twelve issues, Joel received the best imaginable combination of training and experience. Collaborating with photographers who included Steven Klein, Raymond Meyer, Brigitte Lacombe and Deborah Turbeville, he developed a simple, but strong graphic language that helped Mirabella win the American Society of Magazine Editors' General Excellence Award in 1992.

1991

1991