Karlie Kloss has just purchased British fashion and culture editorial i-D Magazine from Vice Media.
In May of this year, Vice, the media juggernaut previously worth billions of dollars, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, off-putting the future trajectory of its assets – Refinery29, Vice News, Motherboard, Vice TV, and at the time, i-D.
Two months later, The New York Times announced that the conglomerate would be acquired by a group of buyers from Fortress Investment Group. Yet, two days ago, Vice was slated to have more layoffs due to a drastic drop in revenue from advertisers.
Now, Kloss, runway model and entrepreneur, has purchased i-D Magazine from Vice through her recently introduced company Bedford Media. The 31 year old will assume the position of chief executive for the brand when the deal is finalised.
Alastiair McKimm will continue in his role of editor-in-chief but expand his responsibilities to take the titles of chief creative officer and global editor-in-chief as well. Bedford Media will be i-D Magazine’s parent company with Kloss as the chairwoman for her business.
i-D, known for its misty, provocative spreads heading conversations about sexuality, gender, and rising culture as it coincides with fashion, film, and music, was founded by Terry Jones in 1980. Jones, British Vogue’s art director from 1972 to 1977, now 78 years old, sold i-D in 2012, but not before he imposed irrevocable influence on street style in print publications.
Speaking to W Magazine in 2016, Jones detailed the development of his intention for wanting to create a tangible representation of fashion as it was seen on the streets rather than the runways. His initial idea was to start a fashion zine, a short, independent work of art.
“It was about the idea that you could do it yourself rather than have a fashion magazine dictate what you could wear. It was the time when post-punk, club life, and the music scene were all coming together. It was about DIY self-expression,” he said of his motivation.
While the news of Kloss’s purchase may have been unforeseen to some, it isn’t totally surprising, as i-D isn’t the style muse’s first venture into print media. In 2020, Kloss took part ownership of W Magazine, working alongside the high-end fashion publication’s editor-in-chief Sara Moonves to form a group of investors. The group, ushered by Kloss, ensured representation from a new joint enterprise titled W Media.
The investors of W Media include Jason Blum, Kaia Gerber, Lewis Hamilton, Kristen Green, Dara Treseder, Aryeh B Bourkoff, and talent firm Copper.
Kloss began her modeling career around 2006, starting with Abercrombie Kids ads photographed by Bruce Weber. However, her first credited stint was with Arthur Eglort for Teen Vogue and i-D in 2011, when she was just 19 years old. The mother of two was the cover feature, donning a short bob and crisp white petal-cut collar for the Spring 2013 edition.
