Culture Vultures

Spotlight on ... UK Youth Lifestyle magazines.   

There’s a whole world of youth culture magazines in the UK for the 16-35 year old crowd these days. Times have changed since beauty magazines were hot for girls and lads only cared about sport and music publications. Today’s switched on youth are eating culture up like it’s going out of fashion. They’ve permanently got their noses in monthly titles such as Dazed and Confused, i-D, Seven, Wallpaper* and their other music or design-based siblings. Even their online versions are proving their worth. Here’s a round-up…

1. Dazed and Confused
Started life as a London street scene fanzine (free magazine) at the hands of its creators Jefferson Hack and Rankin when these style gurus graduated from college. Dazed and Confused is a now a key international lifestyle title for the youth crowd.

2. Mojo
Long standing music title that's aimed at a slightly older market, its main focus is on the different strands of rock, alternative and world music. Covering both new and old music in equal measure, Mojo also publish a series of retrospectives on classic bands and music scenes.

3. i-D
Internationally renowned as the magazine featuring a winking cover model every month, i-D is one of the oldest UK style and fashion culture magazines. Whereas Dazed and Confused tends to focus on underground street scenes, i-D embraces the whole spectrum of UK street style from mainstream to emerging - and all with a cheeky nudge and a wink.

4. NME
Now left as the sole weekly music publication of national stature, NME are the champions of cutting-edge independent and alternative music. Its relentless support of the more unknown and upcoming bands has seen it survive the demise of the other music weeklies, and the recent addition of a website full of up to date news and gig guides is a useful resource.

5. Wallpaper*
Wallpaper* is the wealthy sibling of the UK’s lifestyle and culture magazines and is more focussed on design, architecture, high fashion and travel than the other publications. Its target readers are more likely to be affluent globetrotting young professionals and rich, highly qualified executives, rather than the funky underground young artists, clubbers and djs that are more likely to read the other titles. However, Wallpaper* is a key trendsetter in today’s fast-paced cultural world and profiles the aspirational lifestyle and look of the sharp 25-45 year-old UK designer crowd.   

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