Bettridge takes creative helm at i-D

Bedford Media has announced the appointment of Thom Bettridge as editor-in-chief and chief brand officer of i-D. 

It’s a new position that means Bettridge will oversee all aspects of creative, editorial, and brand for i-D — from its digital and print content to new commercial platforms.

It comes after the publication relaunched its website earlier this month, “showcasing a newly honed focus, back to what i-D was always known and loved for: its take on fashion, music, art, film and culture”.

We’re told Bettridge will now build an editorial team that will also include “collaborators from these fields, respectively, as well as a global community of creators”.

Bedford added that the brand has been “a disruptor for over 40 years, the new i-D, under Bettridge’s guidance, will once again expand beyond fashion, into all areas of culture that matter to a new generation of creative people”.

The new EiC’s background includes editorial roles at 032c, Interview and then HighSnobiety where he was also EiC, before joining Canadian online retailer Ssense, as head and then VP of creative and content. 

He has “a reputation as a pointed storyteller and thought leader, with a keen understanding of how editorial and commerce converge”.

Bedford founder and chair Karlie Kloss said: “No one embodies the future of i-D more than Thom. His creative instinct and cultural fluency make him the ideal person to chart the magazine’s next chapter. I trust in Thom’s vision and know the magazine is poised to leave yet another indelible mark on the world under his leadership.”

Kloss has big ambitions for the title with the print magazine set to return in March 2025. It “will be moving to a bi-annual cadence, in order to make room for additional print concepts and multi-platform projects. Working closely with Bedford Media Partner & CEO Nicole Muniz, the punk spirit of this iconic platform will once again be seen and felt around the world”.

More editorial team announcements within the relaunched i-D will be made in the next few weeks.