MILAN — D magazine, the weekly supplement of Italy’s progressive newspaper La Repubblica, is celebrating its 30th anniversary by highlighting the strengths that have gained it international recognition, especially since its total revamp in 2022.
Under the lead of editor in chief Emanuele Farneti, D magazine is publishing three glossies, sold in a bundle, for a total of 750 pages, its largest issue ever.
Each tome is dedicated to one of the media brand’s pillars including fashion, photography and long-form articles, without indulging in nostalgia, Farneti said in an interview.
“Although the magazine has traditionally integrated the three souls, the celebratory issue vertically tackles each of them, with a dedicated cover. It’s like a play in three acts, or three chapters of the same book,” Farneti explained.
“The common thread is that this issue talks about the future, rather than the past. Each tome looks at what’s yet to come. I believe that the role of media companies today is to help readers navigate the chaos of modern times,” Farneti said.
D has conscripted high-profile creatives for the celebratory issue, to be released on Saturday. These include artist Francesco Vezzoli, illustrator Olimpia Zagnoli and creative director Ferdinando Verderi, to reinterpret its logo for each of the three themed glossies.
A spread from the Paolo Roversi couture editorial from the fashion tome part of D magazine’s 30th anniversary issue.
Courtesy of D
“This issue reinstates D’s role as a space of creative freedom,” Farneti said. “I believe that the positioning D has gained over the years has made it one of the strongest reference points for creativity among the old media players rooted in print but also digital,” he said.
Vezzoli’s bead- and sequin-dripping logo appears on the cover of the fashion tome, which was lensed, alongside the main fashion editorial, by Paolo Roversi, the Italian photographer who was recently celebrated with a solo Gallery space in his hometown of Ravenna. The 40-page editorial covering the past 30 years of haute couture is flanked by an interview given to the magazine on his 50-year-plus career. Roversi shot the first issue of D under Farneti’s lead in 2022.
Interviews with some prominent figures from the fashion world — including Verderi, Highsnobiety founder David Fischer, fashion show producer Alexandre de Betak, and Instagram’s director of fashion partnerships Eva Chen, among others — aim to examine the current state of fashion and its future prospects.
The photography glossy comprises the works of 30 photographers that collectively portray modern Italy covering landscapes, portraits, fashion and beauty images and reportage. The photography compendium spans 60 pages, and includes pictures from nine photography students. Verderi contributed with wooden sculptures of the logo piled atop one another.
A spread from the photography tome part of D magazine’s 30th anniversary issue.
Courtesy of D
The written article glossy, featuring Zagnoli’s squishy rendition of the logo, honors the legacy of D, paying tribute to the original spirit of founder Daniela Hamaui, who defied clichés associated with women’s magazines by introducing foreign news and reportages, for example, Farneti said.
The tome explores the magazine’s past portraiture of Italian society, culture and politics, but it also provides a snapshot of the future, with long-forms on topics such as technology, creativity and journalism. It includes interviews with the four editors in chief that Farneti has succeeded, including Hamaui, and it closes with a letter by author Nadia Terranova sent to an imaginary newborn “D girl.”
The opening spread of Nadia Terranova’s letter from the long-form articles tome part of D magazine’s 30th anniversary issue.
Courtesy of D
As reported, D and La Repubblica’s parent Gedi Gruppo Editoriale SpA was sold earlier this year to K Group, the Kyriakou family-owned parent company of international media, content and entertainment organization Antenna Group. The former owner, the Agnelli family’s holding company Exor N.V., divested entirely from the Italian media company.
In addition to La Repubblica, Gedi Gruppo Editoriale SpA includes the likes of HuffPost Italia, National Geographic Italia and Limes; the radio brands Radio Deejay, Radio Capital and m2o, and the advertising agency Manzoni. Previously part of the portfolio, the Turin-based La Stampa newspaper was sold to the SAE Group as part of the same deal.
After joining D as editor in chief in 2022 and successfully upscaling the magazine, Farneti launched 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 in 2024. He was previously the EIC of Vogue Italia and L’Uomo Vogue, which he left in 2021.
