W Magazine’s new Little sister publication is giving a new generation a reason to care about print again — and yes, I will be at the newsstand on September 15.
I remember being obsessed with teen magazines. Always going to the magazine section at the CVS or Target and seeing the posters of the hottest guys, the little style tips, quizzes, pop-culture news, and, of course, the gossip. I also grew up watching Dance Moms, and whenever they got an opportunity to be featured in Seventeen (especially the Season 6 episode where Seventeen editors came to the ALDC), I had to see it.
So, naturally, when I heard about WYouth, I was immediately interested.
WYouth, pronounced “Double Youth,” is W Magazine’s new teenage sister publication, rooted in W’s archives but reimagined for a new generation. It will have two print issues a year, with digital stories appearing in a dedicated section of W’s website in between.
And it is not exactly a small magazine. The first issue is 182 pages, longer than Elle but shorter than this September’s Vogue. The physical magazine is about half the size of a regular W issue, which honestly makes sense for what they are going for.
Ava Nirui, WYouth’s editor, described the magazine as having a “relatable, scrapbook-y feeling.” I think that might be my favorite description of it that I’ve read so far.
So, how did WYouth even happen?
The whole thing started with a text from Sofia Coppola.
“You should talk to Sara Moonves about a teen version of W.”
That was the text Coppola sent Nirui last year, and somehow, from there, WYouth came to life.
Nirui said that it felt surreal that someone who had influenced her so much was now introducing her to Sara Moonves. Nirui and Moonves connected almost immediately, talking about their own teenage years and reminiscing over old issues of Seventeen and Sassy.
And I mean… if that conversation doesn’t sound like the beginning of a teen magazine, I don’t know what does.
Moonves is W’s editor-in-chief and CEO of W Media, while Nirui is coming to WYouth after spending the last nine years at Marc Jacobs as the global creative lead for Marc Jacobs and Heaven by Marc Jacobs.
The magazine also has a pretty cool group of contributing editors, including Sofia Coppola and her daughter, Cosima Mars.
There is also no strict age range for WYouth. Which I like. It feels less like they are trying to decide exactly who a “teen” is and more like creating something for anyone who still wants that feeling of youth and discovering something new.
And the first cover? Hailey and Justin Bieber.
WYouth’s inaugural issue features Hailey and Justin Bieber, with the couple posing mid-makeout on the cover and sharing a little glimpse into their life away from the spotlight, including some of their favorite things.
Holidays. Karaoke songs. Books. Breakfast. Etc.
Their names on the cover were illustrated by Geoff McFetridge, who also did title artwork for Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides. LOVEEEEEE <33333333
And the rest of the issue is just as fun. WYouth will feature Tyler, The Creator; Clairo interviewed by Charli xcx; Chase Infiniti and her sister, Dolcé Imani; Chloë Sevigny; Romy Mars; Petra Collins; Shoichi Aoki and so much more.
A bit of nostalgia, a bit of right now
What I think is most interesting about WYouth is that it is not trying to completely recreate the teen magazines that came before it. It is taking pieces of them and bringing them into what young people are actually interested in now.
Nirui has talked about Sassy and Seventeen as part of the magazines she grew up with, while Japanese photographer Shoichi Aoki’s FRUiTS is another major influence. FRUiTS, founded by Aoki in 1997, documented street style around Tokyo, especially Harajuku, and became known for showcasing the individuality of the people he photographed.
Nirui has said that FRUiTS
“quite literally taught me how to get dressed,”
which I think is such a good example of what magazines can do when you are young.
Sometimes you pick one up for some celebrity tea or an outfit and end up discovering an entire new world.
That is also what Nirui seems to want WYouth to do. In her first editor’s letter, she talks about how the publications she grew up with introduced her to ideas that changed her life. WYouth is bringing together that pop-culture nostalgia with everything they are excited about right now.
But… a print magazine for teens in 2026? HUH?
This is probably the biggest question around WYouth.
We are living in a time when you can find basically everything online. Fashion inspiration on TikTok. Celebrity news on Instagram. You can find a quiz about your personality in approximately five seconds (Buzzfeed is always my go-to for that).
So why buy a magazine?
The answer might actually be because we spend so much time online. Too much time online.
A recent New York Times story about WYouth asked the very same question: “A Print Magazine for Teens? In This Economy?” The article points out how the once-flourishing world of tween and teen magazines has become pretty barren, while Nirui believes WYouth is arriving at a time when young people are getting a little tired of endless digital stimulation.
She described wanting something that people can pull out of their bags, share with their friends, and actually keep.
And I get that. There’s something different about having a physical magazine. You can fold a page, save an image, rip something out, put it on your wall, or leave it sitting on your desk for the next six months (which I’m guilty of).
You can’t really do that with an Instagram post before you scroll past it.
Which brings me back to me and teen magazines…
I wanted to know what everyone was wearing. I wanted to take the quizzes. I wanted the celebrity interviews. I wanted to know who was dating who. I wanted to see the pages I could tear out and save.
And I still do, apparently.
WYouth makes me so excited for the youth my age and even the tween girl I often take home from school. There is something really fun about seeing a publication come back around that is specifically interested in giving young people a place to discover artists, ideas, fashion, and culture.
And hearing that Sofia Coppola is involved makes it even more exciting for me.
I have been in admiration of her work for years, especially The Virgin Suicides. My high school English teacher actually gifted me the book for a research project I ended up writing on it during COVID. So seeing Coppola connected to WYouth gives the launch a little bit of a personal connection for me, too.
At 21, maybe I’m passing the youthful demographic that gets excited about magazines, but either way, I’m still very much interested.
I’ll be Barricade at the newsstand.
Every story in WYouth’s first issue sounds like something I would have pinned to my bedroom wall or dreamed about making someday. And that is probably what I find most exciting about the launch.
It is not just about bringing back a magazine. It is about bringing back the feeling of finding something in print that makes you want to save it.
WYouth’s first issue hits newsstands September 15, and I will be waiting. Probably at Casa Magazines. Probably coming straight from my 9 a.m. at FIT. And probably overly excited.
Thank you, Sara Moonves, Ava Nirui, and Sofia Coppola. I can’t wait to see what WYouth has to offer!
And if you’re looking for anyone to join the team, I am very much still looking for a job.
#hireme #opentowork #pleaseimgraduatingindecember
Yay, print media!
– Shea <3