Italy’s D Magazine Goes Bigger, More International With Biannual, English Edition
MILAN — In the span of a little more than two years, D, the weekly supplement of Italy’s progressive newspaper La Repubblica, has gained a strong international reputation.
A successful combination of written articles and fashion-forward editorials by high-profile photographers including Mert and Marcus, Glen Luchford, Willy Vanderperre, Paolo Roversi, Mario Sorrenti, Alasdair McLellan, Carljin Jacobs and Robin Galiegue, among others, the magazine is now ready for a step-up.
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Under the lead of editor in chief Emanuele Farneti, who spearheaded its total revamp in 2022, D magazine is gearing up to unveil a biannual, English-language, international edition.
The first issue of the new venture will debut on Tuesday.
A 456-page glossy coming with a hard slipcase and a graphic cover by Thomas Persson, the biannual’s creative director, it groups together some of the most significant editorials and articles recently published in the weekly title.
“This marks an addition jump in positioning for a magazine that has gained international fame,” Farneti said ahead of the debut. “Now we’re providing our international audience with a hard copy,” he said.
Going forward, the two, yearly issues will be published in mid-April and mid-October and distributed through a network of international bookstores, priced at 35 euros.
“Over the past three years the magazine has carved a space for itself as one of the most interesting voices in fashion media on a global level by working with distinct names [professionals],” the editor in chief said. “It’s buzzed about, it can be discovered on Instagram, but outside Italy it’s hard to get copies of the weekly supplement,” he said.
The biannual project will overcome several issues the weekly has faced so far in effectively ramping up its global readership, including limits in distribution and availability, the use of the Italian language and the fast-paced turnaround each weekly issue requires, Farneti explained.
The EIC shared that he had been thinking about the project since he left the top job at Vogue Italia and L’Uomo Vogue in 2021, and before joining D a year later.
Several conversations with industry opinion leaders highlighted the increased relevance of weekly and biannual magazines among all print fashion media.
“These [media] product categories are much needed in the industry as a playground where talents can express their creativity freely, media can experiment and brands can really shine,” Farneti said. He sees the project aligned with niche and cult titles, including Paper, Document and Self Service, among others.
French publication M Le magazine du Monde revealed earlier this year that in 2025 it will launch M International, a biannual English edition, available worldwide, with a selection of the articles and images from M, based on an original theme for each issue.
The weekly publication D is part of the portfolio of the GEDI Gruppo Editoriale media group, whose majority stake is owned by John Elkann’s Exor holding company. The magazine was launched in 1996.
After successfully upscaling D magazine, Farneti introduced La Repubblica’s monthly supplement Door, focused on design, interiors and home decor, in 2023 and replaced the newspaper’s men’s title dLui into U earlier this year, increasingly upping its publication frequency to between eight and 10 in 2025.
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