Smile i-D: 20 years of magazine becomes a street style retrospective

The i-D magazine was described by its founder and chief editor, Terry Jones, as "a link between a menu and a diary". It has begun when he, definitely, started thinking that the street culture was more interesting than the conventional fashion world and gave up his place of art director at British Vogue.

After the commemorative edition of its 20 years,nothing better for celebrating the majority of the 21 than becoming a book. With the title Smile i-D, published by Tashen, the 600 pages retrospective, is already essential in any library which is linked to behavior, fashion, music, design and style.

Smile i-D. book cover Photo: David Sims

As an icon isn't discussed, Kate Moss was chosen for being the cover, photographed by David Sims. She is a fashion landmark dating the 90's reality. The book is a compilation of the magazine best moments from 1980 to 2000, in images, articles and news. Much further than the fashion backstage, i-D is making a truly documentation exercise, as "real" people wearing "real" clothes have always populate its pages. And if the fashion desires, more than ever, are on the streets and "real" places, nothing more fair than to see in this posture, one of the most intelligent ways of talking about contemporary trends.

The book was launched with right to an exhibition at Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, an old hydraulic station - full of fascinating original machinery - and today it mixes restaurants, art events and culture. Living in what was before the house refectory, big photographs from Juergen Teller, Wolfgan Tillmans, Nick Knight, among other talents, bring back the magazine's top moments. In the thematic editions, many covers which keep a wide open eye and the other closed make remember unforgettable issues.

With its irreverent and courageous style, i-D isn't afraid of going through the fashion photograph frontier and much less the subjects which it proposes. Some suggestive examples were The sex sense, with Madonna on the cover (1984); The body issue (1988); The visionary issue (1991); The survival issue (1996) and The new beauty issue (1997) with the editorial stared by Sophie Dahl (the "fleshy" model of Opium perfume polemic campaign , forbidden in several countries).

I-D Covers(1999): the Christy Turllington and Guinevere's blinking in the issue called Elevação. Photos from Richard Bulbridge and Craig McDean

The exhibition is sponsored by Emporio Armani - who would say?!? - and accounts with the Giorgio's own declaration: "Terry Jones is a pioneer in the concept of mixing high fashion with street fashion ."

After London, it goes to Milan, Paris, New York and Tokyo, and the organizers also promise other cities around the world. The book will remain as one of the most important documents about fashion and behavior at the end of the 20th century.

exhibition till 29/04/2001
The Wapping Project
Wapping Wall, London E1W 3ST
Wapping tube station