i-D Magazine : 35 Years Of Publishing Phenomenon
In an age when nothing seems to last i-D magazine can claim otherwise. The iconic magazine which turns 35 this year has plenty to celebrate in terms of its longevity.
For three and half decades, the magazine has created, documented and recreated numerous individuals and ideas that provide a collage for each month. Founded in August 1980 by Terry Jones the former designer and art director of British Vogue, it heralded a new generation of print enterprises and set the template for the much-celebrated publishing genre – the style magazine.
The concept behind i-D stemmed from Jones’ mission to celebrate “Street Style” fashion and youth culture. Jones wanted to realize the idea of making a magazine that took inspiration from the street and the multi-faceted ephemera that bombards us daily. The name of the magazine was derived from the initials of his studio named “Informat Design.” Jones began his career in fashion at the age of 27 as Art Director of Vanity Fair and British Vogue in the early ’70s. He left Vogue in 1977 to start his own studio and over the years, established himself as “one of the most experimental creative director of his generation”. He also continued working as a Creative Consultant and Art Director for numerous books, exhibitions, magazines, advertising and television projects thereafter.
‘The idea was to break down the pigeon-holing of identity and fashion; to go beyond the facade of fashion, so you could play it as a game. So you could inject more fun into the codes of fashion.’ – Terry Jones
Jones set up the magazine with his wife Tricia (who was a primary school teacher whom he married in 1968). The first issue of i-D was released in September of 1980 at the price of just 50p and was a home produced 40-page fanzine/DIY magazine pieced and stapled together by hand. The writing was typed up on a type-writer and the models were members of the British public. With its subject matter and graphic style it was at the cutting edge of high fashion, art and street culture and had a huge influence on magazine and advertising design. While it sold a mere 50 copies it shaped the way a generation looked at itself and inspired a whole generation of young hipsters.
In 1984 Jones enlisted the help of Time Out publisher Tony Elliott to turn i-D into a more commercial newsstand product. In 1996, after several years spent concentrating on advertising art direction, Jones steered the design-led monthly back towards fashion, while retaining a puckish, punkish originality in style and content. With its signature wink and smile on each front cover (a graphic representation of the magazine’s logo that have become integral to the i-D identity) it soon became essential reading for the fashion-aware. From Madonna in 1984 to Cara Delevingne in 2014, it has become a cheeky trademark. The magazine has since evolved into a glossy magazine that documents fashion and contemporary media, and has gone a long way toward defining it, separating it from all of its successors.
Jones invented a new way of looking at the world, with key moments in the explosion of global popular culture captured on its pages. With its commitment to discovering and celebrating new talent within the industry the Joneses’ have been credited with bolstering the careers of young British creatives over several generations from the likes of Nick Knight, Edward Enninful, Juergen Teller, Helmut Lang, Craig McDean, David Sims, John Galliano, Kate Moss, and hundreds of other journalists, photographers, graphic designers, fashion designers, stylists, make-up artists and hairdressers.
In late 2012 Terry and Tricia Jones retired, selling i-D to the Vice Media Group. The value of the deal was not disclosed but Jones, and his wife Tricia remain partners and shareholders in the business. Vice, which began life as a magazine before expanding into books, film, TV, advertising and online video, acquired the bi-monthly fashion title to fuel its burgeoning digital ambitions. In 2013 the title relaunched its website with a focus on fashion and video content, at i-d.co.
As it turns 35 this year the magazine released an unprecedented 18 covers of established and emerging fashion names. Shot by British photographer Alasdair McLellan, the limited-edition covers features notable supermodels like Kate Moss, Daria Werbowy, Jourdan Dunn and Lara Stone as well as new faces like Anna Ewers, Karly Loyce, Adrienne Juliger and Jean Campbell, each model (got their own cover) doing i-D’s signature wink. Inside the issue is featured interviews with the photographers, stylists, writers, hair stylists, make-up artists and editors whose shaped the vision of the magazine. There is also 11 designers whom the magazine invited to create a bespoke limited edition cover, from Karl Lagerfeld, Raf Simons, Phoebe Philo, Vivienne Westwood, Riccardo Tisci, Alexander Wang, Christopher Kane, J.W. Anderson, Jeremy Scott, Palace and Supreme.
Looking back, it’s hard to believe that i-D has been publishing since Terry Jones stapled a few pages together back in 1980. 35 years later it has evolved into a fat glossy, acting on the way as a training ground for young journalists, designers and photographers continuing to inspire with its unique way of looking at the world and its commitment to celebrating new talent within the industry.
By
Clinton
