iD Magazine Celebrates 25th Birthday

iD magazine is celebrating its 25th birthday this year. Perhaps it's still a baby compared to the 300 year-old Tatler magazine, but with so many style mags coming and going (The Face, Sleaze Nation, Blitz) it certainly is a birthday worth celebrating.

In an age of multi-national publishing s and bland mega brands, iD has managed to stay independent and managed to survive. The magazine is ready to celebrate with a series of special issues; guest collaborators like Ashley Heath, Neville Brody and David Lipman. There is a documentary on BBC2 on Wednesday, featuring former contributors like GQ editor Dylan Jones. Many successful editors first got their break at iD, such as Vogue's Harriet Quick and celebs such as Naomi Campbell, Giselle and Madonna all did their first cover shoots for iD.

The famous wink - every iD cover star is featured either winking or with one eye covered - began with the first issue and came out of he publishing ethos of founder, editor-in-chief and creative director Terry Jones. He launched the magazine after five years as art director for UK Vogue and wanted to focus on street fashion and identity - hence iD. In a nod to psychoanalysis, iD also refers to the id and the closed eye represents the hidden self.

The main intention with iD was to go past race or class or any other kind of segregation, Jones told Media Guardian. The magazine wanted to promote identity on every level - and business in general has recognised that fashion is a major industry to be reckoned with.