Icon

Riccardo Ruini is to be the new creative director of Icon, the Mondadori Group’s fashion and lifestyle magazine.

Riccardo Ruini began his professional career in advertising, working for leading international agencies. Art Director for the Fendi Group in the mid 1990s, he then went on to oversee iconic campaigns for some of the most prestigious luxury brands, including Bulgari, Gucci and Valentino and curated the art direction of more than ten international magazines, including Vogue Japan and GQ Style UK. During his career Ruini has also collaborated with numerous talents from the worlds of photography, art, cinema and music.

This appointment completes the new team of the magazine led by the editor Andrea Tenerani which has also seen the arrival of Federico Sarica in the role of editor-at-large.

The new formula of Icon, which will make its debut with the March issue, will give pride of place to a more focused presentation of style and Italian savoir-faire, with men and their passions at the centre. More fashion, but also more stories, more background and a more selective approach, in order to give readers a tool to help them find their way in the world of contemporary style.

Icon, the magazine dedicated to the passions of the contemporary male edited by Andrea Tenerani, is reinforcing its team with the addition of Federico Sarica in the role of editor-at-large.

Sarica brings to Icon all of his professional experience with the aim of enhancing even more the global and contemporary approach that characterises the successful formula of the Mondadori Group brand.

Turin-born and Milan-based, Sarica has extensive experience as a journalist, having collaborated with, among many titles, il Foglio, D di Repubblica, Vogue and l’Uomo Vogue. In 2011 he was among the founders of Studio, a magazine of news, current affairs, culture and lifestyle, of wich he will continue to be editor-in-chief.

From next December onwards, Andrea Tenerani will be the new editor-in-chief of Icon, the Mondadori Group brand dedicated to contemporary male passions. This appointment is aimed at further enhancing the successful formula that has enabled the magazine to become a point of reference both in Italy and abroad.

The new trajectory of Icon will be characterised by a focus on the evolution of the style and language of the new generations, while highlighting the points of strength of Made in Italy.

Originally from Massa, in Tuscany, Andrea Tenerani during his professional life has acquired experience with both national and international brands. He joined the Mondadori Group in 2011 as the co-creator of Icon in the position of creative and style director, before going on to become the deputy editor of the magazine. The many projects he has overseen include the creation of the retrospective exhibition dedicated to David Bailey at the PAC in Milan in 2015. Subsequently, Tenerani became the creative and style director of GQ and fashion director at L’Uomo Vogue.

A special evening, at Pitti Uomo in Forence, to celebrate Iconic Club: a small and selected group of iconic product that have become part of the history of style, certified by ICON, the upscale male lifestyle title of the Mondadori Group, edited by Michele Lupi. And, on 12 Jun, the Iconic Club Party, at Le Pagliere in Florence, will bring together the brands that have created historic icons of style; objects which, over the years, have built around them authentic communities of admirers who are proud to wear, use and share them with other enthusiasts, conscious of belonging to a limited and exclusive group.

This is the philosophy of Iconic Club, which made its debut this year in the pages of Icon with a special editorial feature dedicated precisely to the stories of such icons: from the enduring legend that is the Vespa Piaggio or the Land Rover Defender in the automotive sector, to items of clothing that have become imprinted in the collective memory of universal style, such as the Fay 4 Ganci or Levi’s 501 jeans, the Baracuta G9 Harrington Jacket to the Valstar Valstarino, or the mythical Persol 714 sunglasses and the Montblanc Meisterstück fountain pen. Behind every one of these symbols there is much more than a simple product, but an account of an original story that has developed over time to create a status symbol in terms of style.

“The inspiration – says editor Michele Lupi – came to us from the many clubs of motorcycle and car enthusiasts. With the editorial team we decided to apply the same concept – made up of communities of aficionados who come together at ad hoc events around the country to exchange information across specially created social media platforms etc, also for the world related to style and fashion.”

For the first time, the Iconic Club Party on 12 June will bring together the Iconic Club brands from the pages of the magazine in an evening event in the centre of Florence in an exhibition that covers the history of each individual product. A show perfectly integrated with the environment of Le Pagliere with big posters celebrating the icons of style that are the protagonists of the event, with historic photographs of the partner brands, taken form the archives.

This special event will be animated by a live-set by Nicky Siano, a pioneer of dance music and the legendary first resident DJ at Studio 54, the Manhattan disco which, at the end of the 1970s, was frequented by a pantheon of the international jet-set, including Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Andy Warhol, John Travolta, Michael Jackson, Elton John and many more.

The evening’s beverage partner will be Belvedere Vodka, the world’s leading luxury vodka, which has created especially for the occasion two Signature Cocktails, the Belvedere Iconic Club and the Belvedere Pink Icon, the official cocktails for the event along with Belvedere Ruby Tonic.

To mark the Pitti Immagine Uomo 94, the June issue of Icon, like that of last January, will enjoy a special distribution on the platforms of the high-speed trains running between Milan and Florence, in the lounge areas of 4 and 5 star hotels in Florence, and to opinion leaders and international buyers at Pitti.

Companies have responded enthusiastically to the lively and exciting proposal of Icon and given the advertising company Mediamond an extraordinary result for the June issue, which has recorded a 60% in sales compared with last year.

A 52-page special featuring style, music, places and stories with an entirely rock-based focus; a portrait of a giant of world cinema, Christoph Waltz; an unexpected and exclusive visit to the Vatican’s historic tailors, an exploration of the secrets and rituals of the Papal dress code. All this, and much more, in the new issue of Icon, on newsstands and in digital from 13 June, and coinciding with the 92^nd edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo in Florence (June 13-16) and the fashion shows of Milano Moda Uomo (from 16 to 20 June 2017).

A special issue, during the two unmissable appointments for men’s fashion, where the Mondadori Group’s upscale men’s magazine, edited by Michele Lupi, will be among the protagonists.

STYLE ROCK – Virgin Radio’s historic pay-off is also the name of the radio’s playlist that has revolutionised Italian radio broadcasting with an unmistakable style and is now preparing to celebrate its first 10 years. But on 13 June, “Style Rock” will above all be the name of an exclusive supplement with the new issue of Icon, that as a stand-alone takes an “iconic” look at the world of rock. A world that has “influenced everything in the past 40 years, from fashion to design, to cinema and photography, as well as cars,” says Icon editor Michele Lupi, explaining the genesis of the Special Issue. “When we realised that Virgin Radio was about to celebrate its 10^th anniversary, we immediately thought of a collaboration that would be good for both of us. I talked to the whole radio team, with my old friend Ringo and Paola Maugeri. It seemed clear to everyone that the combination of Icon and Virgin could be a natural evolution of a common way of interpreting style.”

“When Mondadori asked us what we thought of a new project involving our Virgin Radio brand with Icon,” said Paolo Salvaderi, chief executive of RadioMediaset, “we immediately saw an opportunity to further strengthen our leadership in the radio market through the most successful male-oreinted editorial product in the print media market. I want to thank Michele Lupi and Mondadori for having created a product that is truly consistent with our positioning, with the established quality and innovation for which Icon is known.”

The cover of the first issue of Style Rock celebrates the legendary “stud”, an element that has come in and out of fashion from the 1950s to the present day, without ever losing its somewhat fetishist appeal for entire generations dedicated to the cult of rock. Inside the magazine, an event exhibition celebrating the great years of Guns N’ Roses, the band currently on a successful and historic reunion tour. But also an exclusive interview with Paul Weller, an authentic British national institution and cross-over composer; a portrait of Thurston Moore, the “serial experimenter” far from the mainstream and historic guitarist of Sonic Youth; and a  focus on vinyl, with the most popular records and stores where to find cult classics.

The advertising sales company Mediamond has attracted a large number of companies and brands, who share the magazine’s and its readers rock spirit, and who themselves represent style icons in their respective segments, including Moto Guzzi and Woolrich. “Style Rock is an idea that we really liked from the start and on which we have worked closely with the publisher,” commented Davide Mondo, chief executive of Mediamond. “It’s a project that has enabled us to experience a happy contamination between media of great editorial consistency and to offer our customers a new and unique product. Thanks to targeted distribution, Style Rock is also perfectly in line with clients’ communication needs. Indeed, we are already working on a second issue.”

The main cover of Icon, meanwhile, features Christoph Waltz, the Austrian actor who conquered Hollywood thanks to Tarantino, with two Oscars as the best actor not in a leading role, two Golden Globes for supporting actor and two BAFTA awards, for Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained. Inside the magazine there is also an unusual visit to three historical Roman tailors that make clerical clothes and vestments, a discovery of the key figures in the Vatican boutiques and the secrets and rituals of the papal “dress code”.

To mark the 92^nd edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo, the new issue of Icon will have a special distribution on 13 June at the Central Station in Milan on the platform for the Frecciarossa trains departing for Florence, confirming the important role of events for the brand’s identity.

Icon’s new “Classic Style Issue”, is published on 10 January with a special focus on fashion and tailoring, and coinciding with the 91^st edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo in Florence (from 9 to 13 January) and the Milan shows.

A special issue, published for the first time in the month of January to mark the two essential appointments for male fashion which will feature Mondadori Group’s up-scale male title, edited by Michele Lupi, among the protagonists.

This brings to 8 the number of issues of Icon during the year, reinforcing its role in the segment of reference with excellent results in terms of advertising,  up by 8% (print and digital) in 2016 compared with the previous year, confirming the positive trend of the last 3 years.

The new issue includes important fashion features, interviews and services celebrating, as never before, the style of the contemporary man and the whole universe of trends and details surrounding it. “We have chosen an authoritative approach for a fashion that is too often depicted in terms of pure habit, rather than as one of the drivers of our country, from the fashion houses to the catwalks and retail,” declared the editor, Michele Lupi.

THE CONTENT

The content of the new issue incudes a detailed examination of the role of the shop of the future, thanks also to Tommy Hilfiger who opened the doors to their Digital Room: a concrete evolution of the classic boutique formula formula in which there is a dialogue between the real and the virtual in close contact with the needs of the consumer where made-to-measure style becomes available at a click.

On the cover is Ewan McGregor, who returns to the big screen in early 2017 in the sequel to the film that made him a star: Trainspotting 2. He talks to Icon about twenty years in cinema and his debut as a director with American Pastoral, based on the novel by Philip Roth. Another leading protagonist of this special issue is the astronaut Maurizio Cheli, the first Italian to have travelled on the Space Shuttle as Mission Specialist, who accompanies us into space on an incredible journey to the limits of known reality with highly emotional anecdotes and stories of his adventures.

In an issue dedicated to style, there had to be a big fashion feature produced by the magazine’s fashion director, David St. John-James, who re-interprets the outdoors among the lunar rocks chameleon colours behind the lens of photographer Daniel Riera. As always, of course, there is the fashion portfolio dedicated to the leading designers who in the January issue offer a preview of the spring fashions in a sophisticated mood that recalls the atmosphere of the cinema of the past.

SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION

The role of the magazine is enhanced by the contribution of events and extra-sector initiatives. During the 91^st edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo in Florence, the new issue of Icon will enjoy a special distribution, conducted on 10 January at the Central Station in Milan, on the platform from which the high-speed Frecciarossa leaves for Florence. This is a special initiative that confirms the reinforcement of an increasingly targeted distribution system across the territory.

Special efforts have also been made on the communication front with the use of high-impact visibility formats at the S. Maria Novella station in Florence and the distribution of copies at the city’s 4 and 5 star hotels.

The issue will be presented on 16 January during the Milan Men’s Fashion Week at a lunch in the Armani Hotel. also with the participation of Icon Spain.

“I struggled to win. And I won “, there is all the pride of an extraordinary woman behind Donatella Versace’s words, the first female face ever to end up on the cover of Icon, the Mondadori Group’s men’s magazine, edited by Michele Lupi. To whom the vice-president of the Milanese fashion house tells the story in his new issue on January 9th, just a few days after the award ceremony as Fashion Icon Award by the British Fashion Council, and forty years after the company was founded.

The new issue of Icon – which on January 9th will be distributed with a special activity at the central station of Milan and that of Firenze S. Maria Novella in favour of the departing and arriving trains in Florence for Pitti – confirms the continued growth of the magazine, which recorded a 10% increase in advertising sales in 2017 compared to the previous year (source: Nielsen Jan-Oct. 2017). A positive result in contrast to the market of reference (men’s magazines) which marks almost -3%. Advertising sales were also very good for the new issue, which stood at around +10%, with a consolidation of special projects and digital performance.

New appointments have been announced today in the Panorama system: Michele Lupi will be the new editor of Icon and Flair, the fashion and lifestyle magazines that enhance the offer of the weekly Panorama, edited by Giorgio Mulè.

At the same time, Emanuela Fiorentino will take up the post of deputy editor of Panorama. Fiorentino will oversee Link, the new section dedicated to male lifestyle recently added to the newsmagazine.

Michele Lupi, 48, was born in Milan and in 1989, while still a student of architecture began working with a number of RCS titles pursuing his passion for racing cars and travel. In 1994 he was the New York correspondent for the monthlies Dove and Gulliver. From 1997 to 1999 he worked in television, first at RAI and then at MTV, where he was the author, among other things, of the programme Kitchen. In the autumn of 2003, with Carlo Antonelli, he put together the Italian edition of Rolling Stone, which he edited until July 2006, when he was appointed editor of GQ Italia, where he remained until January 2011. From March to May of that year, he was deputy editor of Vanity Fair Italia, before returning to the editor’s chair at Rolling Stone.

In Mondadori Michele Lupi will take advantage of the collaboration of Sissy Vian, creative fashion director of Flair, and Andrea Tenerani, creative fashion director of Icon, who will provide additional support to Michele Lupi in product development del.

Emanuela Fiorentino, who was born in Cesano Maderno (MB), and after taking a degree in political science from the University of Bologna began her career in journalism at il Messaggero. She later joined the editorial staff of Corriere Adriatico, where she covered the courts and justice, before joining Il Giornale, as head of the Florence office. In 2000 she moved to Panorama, where she has covered roles of increasing responsibility, becoming head of the Rome office in 2009.

The Panorama System
With a range of initiatives that range across print media and the web, Panorama is at the centre of a system that involves all channels of communication, from tables and mobile, to events around the country.

The development of Panorama is proceeding also on the web with Panorama.it, which, thanks to its ability to provide immediate and detailed news coverage, in June recorded more than 4 million unique users (Source: ShinyStat). It also has a significant presence on all the main social networks: with over 110,000 fans on Facebook, while the total number of Twitter followers has doubled since 2013 to over 100,000.

Meanwhile the great success of the “Panorama d’Italia” tour continues, in which the weekly magazine goes in search of excellence around the country: after the summer break, the live&media experience will continue stopping of in Verona (10-13 September), Verbania (24-27 September), Brescia (8-11 October), Viterbo (22-25 October), Catania (5-8 November) before concluding in Salerno (19-22 November).