Anyone who’s worked in magazines at some point in the last two decades will have felt the long shadow of the ‘death of print’. While the pre-internet model of publishing is long gone, along with its huge circulation numbers and cultural ubiquity, the reality of print’s apparent decline is inevitably more nuanced. If anything, the enduring influence of titles like Vogue and the New Yorker, along with a steady stream of niche indie mags and the recent resurrection of i-D and Vice’s print offerings, suggests that magazines have morphed into a luxury item.

As advertisers take note of this shift, it’s translating into more buoyant print ad revenues for titles such as Dazed. But there’s also been a resurgence in brands investing in print on their own terms, either as one-off campaigns or longer-term editorial projects. Luxury brands have arguably always had the strongest presence in the space, as seen with Acne Paper or Bottega Venetta’s revival of Butt Magazine, but what’s interesting to see now is more high-street names and digital-era brands exploring the format’s potential.

Last year, for instance, Air Jordan took over street-culture mag Sneeze, J Crew revived its iconic catalogue after a seven-year hiatus, and dating app Feeld launched its own print publication AFM (known interchangeably as A Feeld Magazine or A Fucking Magazine). Speaking to CR at the time of its launch, co-editor Maria Dimitrova suggested the move was a natural fit considering the brand’s broader mission of fostering meaningful connections among its users. “Turning the pages of a magazine should be a sensual experience that invites an encounter with something unknown – whether in relation to oneself or others.”