The best photo stories about fantasy & desire we published this year

As 2023 draws to a close, we’re looking back at a handful of our favourites from the approximately 250 photo stories i-D published and commissioned across the year. Wistful, nostalgic, sexy, esoteric, silly… we think there’s something for everyone. But you be the judge of that. Happy New Year!

Photograph by Sly Morikawa of a girl in lingerie lying on the bed from the zine 24/7 Paradise

Sly Morikawa: Sex, subculture & self in Tokyo

The zine ‘24/7 Paradise’ features friends, acquaintances and fast cars in the city that moves fast and doesn’t sleep. Look here.

Photograph by Pacifico Silano of a close up of a man's belly wearing a white top and blue jeans

Pacifico Silano: Masculinity through the lens of the 70s

Inspired by a polaroid of his late uncle, Frank, Pacifico Silano began collating imagery of queer men from an era of liberation and tragedy. Look here.

Photograph by Shae Detar of a woman lying naked on blue sand from Another World

Shae Detar: Mystic exploration of the female form

In ‘Another World’, the artist captures her nude muses in a spellbinding dialogue with Mother Earth. Look here.

Photograph by Joseph Rodriguez of mexico city sex workers in the 90s standing against the wall

Joseph Rodriguez: Mexico City’s sex workers in the 90s

A lens on the lives, desires and spirituality of the people inhabiting the dangerous La Merced district. Look here.

Photograph by Lin Zhipeng of a boy with a face mask on and a cherry hanging out of his mouth

Lin Zhipeng: Tender photos of boys, boys & more boys

The Chinese photographer talks boys, Berlin and his first meeting with Ren Hang. Look here.

Photograph by Guzman of a woman wearing bikini briefs on a bed while a figurine of a man with a lawnmower mows her pubes

Guzman: A campaign all about the fetish for giant women

Though noticeably devoid of many clothes, a Kookaï collection shot by the photographer duo saw giantesses reach sexy, powerful new heights. Look here.

Photograph by Lukas Städler of three men in speedos and shorts pressed against each other

Lukas Städler: Berlin’s most popular cruising spots

Parks and woodlands have long been places for quick, anonymous, consensual sex. Lukas Städler documents them. Look here.

Photographs by Pierre Leguillon from the book The Barefoot Promise of the foot fetish moments in cinema

Pierre Leguillon: Hollywood’s eternal foot fetish

Book ‘The Barefoot Promise’ examines cinema’s most enduring fantasies. Look here.

Photograph by Quil Lemons of a man in briefs and tied up lying in the corner of a room with a checkered floor from Quiladelphia

Quil Lemons: Embracing radical queerness

‘Quiladelphia’, his first solo exhibition, is an exploration of vulnerability and desire. Look here.

Photograph by Lean Lui of lips leaving saliva on another person's nipple

Lean Lui: An eerie look at chastity & fantasy

The Hong Kong-raised photographer has worked on ‘Aseptic Field’ for five years, examining the darker side of first loves. Look here.