i-D celebrates anti-algorithmic behaviour with The Lore Issue for Spring 2026.

EsDeeKid is a masked sensation who—despite being a child of online rap culture—has absolutely zero paper trail. In a photoshoot spanning across three countries (and featuring three rottweilers), director Aidan Zamiri follows the Liverpudlian musician on a medieval chronicle through the looking glass of rap stardom. The story features an original poem titled “Vermin” penned by EsDeeKid himself during the making of the shoot. 

SZA is a certified megastar by every measure who has achieved the rare feat of being insanely famous yet beautifully unknowable, maybe even to herself. For our cover story, we met the musician in Los Angeles to find out what goes on inside her mind. Speaking with writer Brittany Spanos, SZA opens up about her artistry, her beliefs, and her commitment to making music others can’t, from the ashram to the Super Bowl. 

Elsewhere on our covers, Bhavitha Mandava (hyperlink) takes center stage, an American songstress tells us secrets, and we remember a British legend. But wait—there’s more lore! Zara Larsson escapes the Khia Asylum, Simone Rocha and Martine Rose dish about fashion, Jack Antonoff orders some take-away, we round up London’s best vintage stores, and a group of 18-year old design students interrogate the designers behind fashion’s most famed maisons.

Also insi-De: Hasan Piker, Joyce Carol Oates, Adéla, Cruz Valdez’s crew, mega beauty, UFC fighters, Torishéju Dumi, and a Burger King Birkin bag.