i-D
Following the publishing of Not Another Punk Book and seeing that no magazines took street style seriously, Jones pitched the template for what would later become i-D to Donna publisher Flavio Lucini. Jones stated in that “He told me that there would be no interest in that,” Jones said. “He said it wouldn’t sustain commercially.” Undeterred, Jones funded his new venture himself, at around the same time that its spiritual sister publications The Face and Blitz also took off.
In 1980 Terry Jones, his wife Tricia Jones, and Blitz kid Perry Haines officially founded the magazine i-D. Starting as a hobby, the concept of i-D is "simple" states Jones, stating "The fact that the story had to come from the subject who was being photographed. I think that that was a simple idea that you could exchange. That if, someone looked interesting or like-minded, you could ask them “Where should I go and get a sandwich or whatever”... It was like a club you could belong to." Terry describes the ethos of the magazine embodying a "do it yourself" attitude to fashion and self-expression, rather than have a fashion magazine dictate what you could wear. It was the time when post-punk, club life, and the music scene were all coming together. The first issue was hand-stapled photocopies in the style of a fanzine with little distribution, however over the years i-D developed to one of the most influential style and culture magazines, not just reporting on the cultural shifts and trends but creating them. fashion magazine with global impact, while still keeping its cutting-edge view on fashion and youth culture.
i-D became responsible for producing some of the most iconic and innovative fashion imagery for the period. Terry discovered and commissioned work by up-and-coming photographers, many whose successful photographic careers began at i-D. These photographers include Juergen Teller, Wolfgang Tillmans, Donald Milne, Mark Alesky, Normski, Stefan Ruiz, Mark Borthwick, Glen Luchford, David Sims, Mark Lebon. Additional collaborators such as John Galliano, Kate Moss, Judy Blame, Alexander McQueen, Helmut Lang, Franz Ferdinand, Chloe Sevigny, Raf Simons, Undercover, Veronique Branquinho, Lily Cole, Giles Deacon, Dizzee Rascal, Scarlett Johansson, Rick Owens and Tadanabu Asano are amongst those who appeared first in i-D.amung many others. i-D also gave Madonna her first cover in March 1984, as well as Sade in 1983.
Besides of the abbreviation for 'identity', the name i-D' refers to 'Informat Design', Terry Jones' studio, later on re-branded as 'Instant Design'. Jones states that the ethos of the magazine is founded in this idea of "creating your own rules", going beyond the clothes and investigating how fashion is used as the way of communicating to give an insight of your interests." Terry states, "It was always the coding of fashion which I liked...People choose what they’re going to wear to go to work or to decide ‘this is who I am’ to reflect who that personality is."
Throughout the course of his editorship, Jones was responsible for cultivating and teaching upcoming British fashion journalist talent including that of Edward Enninfel and Dylan Jones. Terry along with his collaborators have stated that working on the magazine was like working "like a family." The magazine grew over the years, evolving out of its humble beginnings in the 'fanzine' style, and emerging into the most respected fashion and culture bible. In 1984 Jones enlisted the help of Time Out publisher Tony Elliott to turn i-D into a more commercial newsstand product. In 1996, after several years spent concentrating on advertising art direction, Jones decided to take a more hands-on approach to i-D, and subsequently steered the design-led monthly back towards fashion, while retaining a puckish, punkish originality in style and content, throwing material together quickly in the manner of a low-budget film. In the 90's, Terry made a concerted effort to move i-D into the new decade with an emphasis on social, political and environmental issues. Terry began consulting for Esprit, and along with owner Doug Thompkins, similarly brought this environmental consciousness to the consumer market, rare for brands at the time.
Jones is author and editor of books related to the magazine like i-D Covers 1980–2010 (2010), SMILE i-D: Fashion and Style: the Best from 20 Years of i-D (2001), SOUL i-D (2008), or i-DENTITY: An Exhibition Celebrating 25 Years of i-D (2006); as well as a curator of travelling exhibitions, and furthermore running a (probably now defunct) record label under the eponymous name. Terry also famously collaborated with Dennis Morris to create the infamous 'PiL' logo for Public Image.
Terry has also curated and designed the travelling Smilei-D and i-Dentity exhibitions, celebrating i-D's rich history and taking place in cities such as Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, London, Milan, Moscow, New York, Paris and Tokyo. With Tricia as curator, Terry also designed the travelling SOUL i-D exhibition, recently held in Beijing in October 2012.
