The Sophomore Issue of i-D Magazine Triples Its Revenue

LONDON — Publishing is a hard business and the downsizing is continuous.

It was recently announced that Vogue U.S.’s new head of editorial content, Chloe Malle, will be slashing the magazine’s monthly print edition in favor of special or collectible issues.

Many magazines have slashed their monthly print editions in favor of special or collectible issues, including Karlie Kloss’ i-D Magazine, which she acquired from Vice Media in 2023 and which now follows a biannual print run.

The magazine’s print product relaunched in March this year and its fall 2025 issue will hit newsstands on Sept. 22.

So far, it has been a success.

“The fall 2025 issue is our highest-ever revenue issue and tripled the spring 2025 issue in terms of revenue,” said Michiel Steur, i-D Magazine’s chief commercial officer. “We generated well over $1 million in revenue and it’s a first for i-D and a big milestone.”

For the fall 2025 issue, i-D Magazine will be partnering with newsagents across different cities and will be hosting a few activations during fashion month.

Steur joined i-D Magazine from British Vogue, where he was vice president of brand revenue. In joining the indie title, he has restructured its commercial strategy to reengage the magazine’s core luxury fashion and sportswear partners, as well as bringing in new streams of revenue through automotive, beauty, technology and alcohol brands.

The magazine is also extending its reach and partnering with Substack, the newsletter platform, to produce a newsletter and a zine with Substack creators and original pieces of content.

The i-D Magazine Substack will have its own theme and direction that differs from the magazine’s main newsletter.

The collaboration is an ongoing dialogue between i-D and Substack. “The zine is a one-off right now, but I don’t see why it couldn’t repeat in some cadence,” said Steur.

The magazine, which celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, is dusting off its digital credentials and taking it more seriously.

“We no longer follow that traditional hierarchy between print and digital,” said Steur, referring to welcoming advertisers onto the i-D website.

“The website now features a lot more long-form, quality content, whereas in the past, it was much more of a news website on culture and news. You can now find news and culture on our Instagram or other social media platforms, which is very much in line with the way that our audience consumes media today,” he added.