i-D's return: Famous fashion magazine finds its glory again
Like film cameras, carbon discs or brick phones, magazine printing publications, which were once overwhelmed by the digital age, are now popular again among young people. They crave a tangible experience, an item that they can hold, collect and cherish over time.
At the end of March 2025, i-D magazine, a famous fashion magazine that had been interrupted for release after parent company Vice announced its bankruptcy in 2023, officially reappeared on the British newspapers. Karlie Kloss, a former supermodel and businesswoman born in 1992, bought her i-D through her Bedford Media Group. At the celebration party, Kloss shared emotionally: This will be an extraordinary thing in the history of fashion. I bought the i-D because I didn't want it to disappear.
The return of i-D fashion magazine not only has symbolic value but also reflects a new wave in the consumer trend of the younger generation. They are not only interested in digital content but also want to find things that bring a more realistic feeling. Jeremy Leslie, art director and founder of the MagCulture platform, an online store and platform that specializes in providing independent magazines around the world, especially creative and artistically designed publications, commented: more and more people are interested in producing and owning magazines. Young people are really passionate about magazines. They use the Internet to connect, but printed publications are what they care about. They want something tangible and can be collected.
While many mass- distributed magazines are facing difficulties, high-end newspapers and independent magazines are thriving. According to a report by the publishing supervisory authority, nearly half of magazines in the UK will see a decrease in printing sales of more than 10% in 2024. Meanwhile, the National Portraithibition in London (UK) has organized an exhibition dedicated to Face - a famous fashion magazine of the 80s and 90s. A spokesperson said that in the first month, the event attracted more than 28,000 visitors, of which 14% were under 25. This proves that young people are not simply nostalgic but also truly appreciate the artistic value and content of print newspapers.
Blowing a new breeze to attract the younger generation
Print publications were predicted to disappear due to the strong development of digital media, but in reality, this is not the case. The British fashion magazine Grazia has seen a 46% increase in sales this year. To meet the needs, they have launched independent publications every two years, focusing on the topic of beauty and interior.
Thom Bettridge, the new Editor-in-Chief of i-D, dismissed the view that print newspapers are fading. He said: "Since I first entered the profession, print newspapers were thought to be gradually disappearing. But it has been there for 10 years.
Bettridge is inspired by Terry Jones, who founded i-D in 1980. He delved into the magazine's huge archives and found a special point: Jones's Do it yourself style is very similar to how people create on the Internet today. I consider it a predecessor of modern digital culture.
The first edition marks the return of i-D magazine under the direction of Bettridge Editor-in-Chief named The Unknown Issue, featuring the cover of Enza Khoury, an 18-year-old girl from Ohio, USA, discovered through an actor casting casting casting by Jennifer venditti, the casting director of the movie Euphoria.
The two additional covers include Naomi Campbell and FKA Twigs - who appeared on i-D in 1986 and 2012, respectively, before becoming big names in the entertainment industry. Bettridge still maintains the unique blinking logo of the publication and his goal is that each magazine is a collectible item for readers. He and Kloss still keep the pressings they bought themselves before.
With the development of the trend of magazine collection, many people not only buy them for reading but also keep them as an artwork. Jeremy Leslie, who owns more than 800 magazines at his store in Clerkenwell, London, commented: Customers are increasingly paying attention to designing the magazine covers because they want to display them on the bookshelf as part of their living space.
In fact, the prices of independent magazines are increasing. On the online sales platform eBay, old editions of Dazed magazine cost 10 times the original price (7 pounds, equivalent to 220,000 VND), while Face's 90s newspapers cost 3 times the original price.
i-D magazine, now published twice a year, costs £20 (equivalent to VND630,000). Editor-in-Chief Bettridge described the i-D publication that has just been released with hundreds of carefully invested content pages. Although the £20 price may seem high, compared to some other magazines with a capacity of 700 pages, weighing 3kg and priced at £50 (equivalent to VND 1,575,000), we have tried to keep the price as affordable as possible, he said.
So, who will be the readers of the newly reissued i-D publication? Bettridge does not consider it to be for a specific audience. Instead, he described them as Internet citizens those who are looking for something different, breaking conventional standards.
Bettridge introduces outstanding and impressive columns in the new edition of i-D, including the luan titled Dont Be Gry and 4 Ways to Not Follow the trend for modern life.
He concluded: Everyone knows about trends, but no one wants to be caught up because they want to be unique.
With the return of i-D and the revival of independent magazines, it seems that print newspapers have not been "decomposed" - it is simply evolving to suit the new generation.
You may see a young person on the train reading a magazine instead of surfing TikTok. And who knows, one day, you yourself will want to keep a printed newspaper - not for news, but because it reminds you: What you touch with your hands, sometimes you touch deeper in your heart.
