Can AI save a luxury magazine? Style by SCMP tries it in a comic

Luxury publication Style by SCMP is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an experimental editorial project that blends storytelling with generative technology.

Published as part of its February 2026 anniversary issue, the magazine unveiled The Style Files, a 16-page AI-augmented comic that reimagines Style’s editorial team as protagonists in a fictional mission to protect the publication’s two-decade archive.

The storyline unfolds as a high-stakes rescue mission set in Hong Kong, where the editorial team faces a digital threat while racing against time to safeguard Style’s 20-year legacy. The comic offers a playful narrative twist for the milestone issue while exploring how emerging technologies can support creative experimentation in luxury publishing.

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The anniversary edition spans 240 pages and includes a wide range of editorial content, from fashion photography to interviews curated by the publication’s editorial team. Within that broader issue, the comic serves as a dedicated space for experimentation.

Rather than replacing traditional editorial craftsmanship, the project was designed to show how AI can complement human creativity in the ideation and production process. To create the comic, Style’s editorial and design team used AI tools to enhance their storyboards and mood boards before refining the visual outputs. Team members provided visual references and adjusted prompts throughout the process to ensure the AI-generated imagery aligned with their creative direction.

The comic also places the magazine’s own team at the centre of the story, turning editors and designers into characters within the fictional adventure. According to Vincenzo La Torre, chief editor of Style by SCMP, the process revealed that while AI can accelerate certain stages of creative work, producing precise results still requires careful human guidance.

“Throughout the process, the team guided the AI tool by providing visual references and refining prompts to ensure that the AI-generated imagery matched their specific creative vision," he said. 

Despite the growing adoption of generative tools across the media and marketing industries, La Torre noted that the process highlighted the continued importance of human interpretation and storytelling. “We learnt along the way that getting AI to produce exactly what you want is not as simple or straightforward as it might seem." 

“Humans interpret information and creative concepts within cultural, social, and artistic contexts, developing narratives and design work that connect with and evoke emotions. This distinction reflects the crucial role of human guidance in the process," he added. 

While the project marks an experimental step for the publication, La Torre said AI can play a broader role in supporting editorial productivity and idea generation, from conducting research to synthesising information into more digestible formats.

In this specific project however, AI supports the team to explore unconventional ideas and more playful concepts.  “This use case of creating a 16-page comic using AI is an example of just that: something unexpected and fun that adds an element of surprise to the usual notion and format of a luxury magazine. The idea was to inject a dose of fun into an industry that can sometimes take itself too seriously," explained the editor. 

At the same time, La Torre emphasised that editorial curation remains central to the value of luxury media in an increasingly crowded information landscape.

“What makes luxury stand out in a world of endless consumption is the emotion we associate with the moments, objects and people that make this industry special,” he said. “I strongly believe that what genuinely inspires and engages other people are the human emotions, the connections we share, and the inspiration we pass to one another.”

The 20th-anniversary issue comes as Style by SCMP continues to evolve from its original incarnation. In 2023, Style by SCMP underwent a revamp, updating its typeface and reaffirming the publication’s vision. The revamp reflected a broader editorial shift towards inclusive luxury, valuing knowledge, access and connectivity over purely symbolic representations of wealth.

The updated magazine also expanded its coverage beyond fashion, watches and jewellery, weaving in responsible luxury, entrepreneurship, innovation, women’s leadership, wellness and philanthropy. The slanted letter “l” in the new masthead, evocative of the slash (/) prevalent across creative communities, symbolised the versatility and multi-hyphenate nature of today’s luxury market, according to La Torre at the time. 

The 20th-anniversary comic “The Style Files” builds on this legacy, blending two decades of Style’s evolution with bold AI experimentation while keeping human editorial curation at its core.

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