Under Steur, i-D will look to begin a new chapter, having been acquired from Vice Media in 2023 as the company navigated its bankruptcy filing. Under its new ownership, Karlie Kloss’ Bedford Media, i-D joins a growing portfolio of publishers, including Life, that aim to capitalize on the considerable resources and connections of the former supermodel and her husband, Josh Kushner, the venture capitalist and new co-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.
This interview has been edited.
Mark Stenberg: i-D has been around for more than four decades, yet you are its first CEO. Why create that role now?
Michiel Steur: I joined in October 2024 as the chief commercial officer of i-D, as part of this new era. For the past two years, we’ve been focused on rebuilding the brand and its business. Now, we want to evolve i-D from a magazine into a media business and cultural platform. Because of the momentum we’ve seen, having dedicated leadership for the brand across the team made sense.
Mark: How do you hope to accomplish that evolution? How will i-D change?
Michiel: We remain committed to what i-D does best, which is to discover and champion new creative talent, but we are always focused on what is next. Commercially, we are expanding into new advertising categories, including automotive and technology. Editorially, we are leaning into the personalities of our editorial staff while also emphasizing our print product.
Mark: Print is a surprisingly hot topic among media companies nowadays. What does that business look like for i-D?
Michiel: Print is about 20% of overall revenue, and it’s growing. We are also using zines as the centerpiece of broader branded content partnerships, centering them around specific themes and then amplifying that content across digital and social platforms.
Mark: The media industry has had its fair share of headaches stem from the ownership of supposedly benevolent billionaires. How does being part of Bedford Media affect i-D?
Michiel: The main reason Bedford acquired i-D was to preserve an iconic media brand and to ensure that it continues to be the platform that champions emerging talent. One of the advantages of our ownership is that we have the ability to invest in that mission with a much longer-term perspective.
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