FT’s How To Spend It rebrands to ‘reflect deeper sensitivities’

In a letter from editor Jo Ellison, she said “times had changed,” referencing the pandemic, the living cost crisis and the war in Ukraine. “We want everyone to feel that the magazine offers something life-affirming, enriching and diverting. And so we have evolved,” she said.

Ellison said that the “spend” part was always intended to be ironic and “less transactional,” but admitted sometimes it has “failed to land.”

The magazine will still feature haute couture brands, supercars, yachts and eye-wateringly expensive holidays, but the ‘S’ for spend will now be used to represent other phrases such as ‘how to style it,’ ‘how to sell it’ and ‘how to save it.’

“There are thoughts on how to see, serve and even swim it too,” Ellison said.

The FT won’t change the “essence” of the magazine, Ellison said. “How To Spend It has always been about how we spend our time, and our content embraces everything that is good in life. We make optimism, pleasure and beauty a focus in a world where such things can be hard to find.”