In Paris on Monday evening, Karlie Kloss and fashion designer Rick Owens were reflecting on their first encounter. It happened, said Ms. Kloss, 17 years ago, when she was new to modeling and her mother accompanied her to the fitting.
Fast forward fifteen years, and today Ms. Kloss is one of the most well-known models in the industry. Alongside her husband, Joshua Kushner, she also operates Bedford Media, a growing media empire, and it was in this capacity that she reconnected with Mr. Owens at a dinner event during Paris Fashion Week.
Mr. Owens and his wife, Michèle Lamy, graciously offered their elegant Left Bank home for a dinner celebrating the relaunch of i-D magazine, which Ms. Kloss acquired in 2023 after its previous owner, Vice, went bankrupt.
“It’s a remarkable piece of fashion history,” remarked Ms. Kloss amid the clinking of Champagne glasses. “I couldn’t bear to see it disappear.”
The newly appointed editor in chief of i-D, Thom Bettridge, expressed the mission of the magazine: to revive “the essence of its past for the current moment.”
Founded in 1980 by Terry Jones, i-D was a revered publication for a generation of independent fashion enthusiasts. For young designers, photographers, and models, being featured in i-D was akin to receiving a blessing. Mr. Owens recounted that i-D provided him with one of his earliest profiles decades ago.
The first issue of Ms. Kloss’s revamped i-D features covers with model Naomi Campbell, whose initial magazine cover was an issue of i-D in 1996, and Enza Khoury, an 18-year-old high schooler from Ohio chosen from over 800 entrants in i-D’s casting call.