LONDON — Alastair McKimm on Wednesday took to Instagram to reveal that he is stepping down from his role as editor in chief of i-D, a day after the Karlie Kloss-owned title paused its print publication and digital output for the foreseeable future to launch a newsletter.
“After five years as fashion director and five years as editor in chief, it feels like the perfect time to move on and turn the page on the next chapter,” said McKimm.
“I’d like to thank my incredible team and collaborators for your inspiration, dedication, patience, and trust. A special thanks to our founders, Terry and Tricia Jones, you changed my life and paved the way for so many of us in this industry. I look forward to the future of i-D,” he added.
In an email sent to staff, seen by WWD, McKimm added: “I’m truly grateful that Kloss invested in i-D’s legacy. I’m behind her 100 percent in what she wants to do and to that end I feel that stepping aside and opening the door for a new team is the way to go.”
Kloss said on Instagram stories that: “We love you, Alastair, thank you for your incredible leadership and dedication to i-D. Looking forward to all that is ahead in this next chapter.”
It’s understood that his successor at i-D will be named soon.
His departure comes at a time when the much-loved London-based publication repositions itself in the publishing world under the new ownership.
“The truth is that there is a lot going on at i-D. And we’re doing it ourselves,” the magazine said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Creating something that can stand the test of time has always been our goal. In many ways, the world is different to when we first started — and yet the same things are just as important to us now as they were back then: reflecting the most exciting and creative expressions of youth culture through fashion, music, photography, art and everything in between.”
In November 2023, Kloss saved the magazine from bankruptcy by adding it to her media portfolio, which includes W Magazine, which she invested in in 2020.
The purchase of i-D was handled through Kloss’ newly formed company Bedford Media, where she is chairwoman. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Per the original arrangement, McKimm was given more responsibilities since the sale of the magazine by stepping up to become chief creative officer and global editor in chief of i-D.
Vice Media, which purchased i-D in 2012, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 and was acquired for $350 million by its creditors, led by Fortress Investment Group that same year.
I-D was founded in 1980 by former British Vogue art director Terry Jones. He commissioned work from a bevy of photographers — including Mario Testino, Terry Richardson and Juergen Teller — who would go on to starry careers in the industry. And the London-based magazine became an influential voice in elevating street fashion.
As an employee of the magazine for more than 20 years, working his way up from an assistant under Edward Enninful, McKimm has spent half of his life at i-D.
In an earlier interview with WWD, he said he used to read the magazine in Nottingham, where he went to university to study fashion design, and he has collected every issue since the first copy he bought after leaving Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1997.
“From the first moment I saw the magazine, I really related to it because it spoke to me much more than any other magazine. I was like an 18-year-old kid who was into skating, surfing, hip-hop, punk and street culture. I could see kids in the magazine that looked like me, it wasn’t all like high-fashion models and it wasn’t the glitz and glamour you would see in your mom’s fashion magazine,” he said.
He loved it so much that when he graduated, working for i-D became his mission of life.
“I didn’t even think it could be possible to have this position because I was only able to predict that, like, one day I would be able to do a 10-page fashion story in i-D. That was really my last career goal,” he added.
In addition to his contribution to i-D, McKimm has worked closely as a stylist with the likes of Gucci, Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, Tiffany & Co. and Supreme, making his name across streetwear, sportswear and high fashion.
