Financial Times’ How to Spend It becomes HTSI: rebrand of luxury magazine reflects the changing times, says editor

After 28 years, How to Spend It (a Financial Times supplement) will be rebranded as HTSI to reflect a broader view of what luxury means in the 21st century

Formerly known as How to Spend It, the ‘S’ stands for many things, says editor Jo Ellison, including ‘style’, ‘save’ and – perhaps most importantly – ‘sustain’

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Jo Ellison, editor of How to Spend It, the luxury supplement of the Financial Times newspaper, talks about its rebrand to HTSI.

Published: 4:15pm, 30 May 2022Updated: 2:12pm, 31 May 2022

Readers of How to Spend It, the luxury supplement of the Financial Times newspaper, are in for a bit of surprise when the publication drops on their doorsteps on June 4.

As of this week, the glossy, which for its 28 years of existence spelled out its purpose in its name, has been rebranded as HTSI.

HTSI is an abbreviation meant to reflect even more clearly the changes that the publication has undergone since Jo Ellison, formerly fashion editor of the Financial Times and features editor of Vogue, took over as editor in September 2019.

While HTSI’s core mission is unchanged and it still caters to the wealthy subscribers of the famously pink newspaper (synonymous with the moneyed elite for well over a century), the S in the abbreviation does not just stand for “spend” any more, as Ellison explains in a recent interview from London.

The June 4 issue of the newly rebranded HTSI.

“Style”, “savour”, “save”, “spot”, “steer”, “serve”, “season”, “stop” and “sustain” (“sustainability is a huge word”) are some of the verbs that Ellison mentions as possible replacements for “spend”, a word that she says reflects a narrow idea of luxury that is not relevant these days.