Sally Singer

Joanna Coles told us she was "not going to muddle" with Cosmopolitan when she took over as editor in chief in September, but she clearly wasn't referring to staff changes.

Coles has reportedly sacked nine members of the magazine's team, including seven on the editorial side and two from the photo department. And while she's hired British GQ's Paul Solomons as creative director and Marie Claire's Joyce Chang as executive editor, a litany of other positions have yet to be filled.

The departures leave Jessica Knoll as the magazine's only current senior editor. When the two first met at a staff meeting in September, Coles joked, "Kate [White] told me you're a rock star. But Kate's gone, so it doesn't matter now."

Over the last several months, the desks at New York's glossy fashion titles have operated more like a game of musical chairs than anything else. The latest departure in a round of shuffling that started in August sees Elle's style director Kate Lanphear leaving her position. It's unclear where she's headed next.

The revolving doors started spinning when Sally Singer was ousted as editor in chief of T Magazine at the end of August. She's now back at Vogue as the digital creative director and was replaced by former WSJ. Magazine editor Deborah Needleman in late September. Needleman took WSJ.'s creative director Patrick Li and fashion features director Whitney Vargas with her when she made the jump.

This week it was announced that stylist Joe McKenna would join T Magazine as fashion director at large. W's Maura Egan has joined T as features editor. Meanwhile, Alix Browne, T's deputy design editor, will head to W Magazine as features director.

Back at The Wall Street Journal, Needleman's deputy editor Ruth Altchek was named editorial director of the paper's weekend Off Duty section and WSJ. in mid-October. Harper's Bazaar executive editor Kristina O'Neill was brought in as editor of the magazine. Two senior members of Bazaar's accessories team, Kate Davidson Hudson and Stefania Allen, left shortly after O'Neill, but not to join her at WSJ. Bazaar's features director Anamaria Wilson also left in October for a position as vice president of global corporate communications at Michael Kors.

Bazaar held onto and promoted three key staffers: longtime senior fashion market editor Joanna Hillman was promoted to style director, Nicole Fritton was named fashion market and accessories director, and Elisa Lipsky-Karasz became the magazine's features editor.

Brides executive editor Anne Fulenwider replaced Coles as editor in chief of Marie Claire. Her first big staff changes have been to promote Nina Garcia from fashion director to creative director and to hire Alex Gonzalez as artistic director. Fulenwider was herself replaced by Keija Minor, becoming the first black editor in chief of a Condé Nast title.

Speaking of Condé Nast employees, Eva Chen left her position as beauty and health director at Teen Vogue and was replaced by Glamour's senior beauty editor Elaine Welteroth.

Above: Joanna Coles. Below: Kate Lanphear.

Sally Singer, who left her job as editor of T Magazine in September, has been named the digital creative director of Vogue. She'll head back to 4 Times Square to take the newly created position on Oct. 29. Singer, who had been the features director and fashion news editor at Vogue before she took over T Magazine in 2010, will report to Anna Wintour and will work closely with Vogue.com Editor Caroline Palmer.

After weeks of speculation, the wait is over: Deborah Needleman will leave The Wall Street Journal's WSJ. Magazine to edit T, The New York Times Style Magazine effective immediately.

"Deborah is a creative and innovative editor with an impeccable sense of style and design," said The New York Times' executive editor, Jill Abramson, in a statement. "As we look to expand and extend T and continue to evolve it for our loyal and sophisticated New York Times audience, we will rely on Deborah's broad range of experience and creative energy. She is coming on board to strengthen the franchise and reimagine its future on all platforms."

Needleman replaces Sally Singer, whose departure from the magazine was announced just before New York Fashion Week.

The New York Times has offered Deborah Needleman the editor's chair at T Magazine twice, according to reports, but no one knows for sure whether she'll accept.

Needleman, currently editor of WSJ. Magazine, told WWD Wednesday that any suggestion she has taken the job "is just not true!" Needleman became an early frontrunner on the list of candidates to replace Sally Singer when her departure from T was announced in late August, but at the time Needleman seemed content to stay at WSJ. "I'm focusing on our Fall-Winter issues right now," she said.

That focus — and her success at WSJ. — are part of what makes Needleman so perfect for the job. The key question now is, will the third time really be the charm?

The New York Times has reportedly already spoken to a number of potential candidates to replace T Magazine editor in chief Sally Singer, whose departure was announced Tuesday.

Deborah Needleman, who edits T's chief rival WSJ. Magazine, GQ deputy editor Michael Hainey, and the Times' Styles section editor Stuart Emmrich have been approached about the position, according to WWD. While Hainey and Emmrich have not commented on the job, Needleman gave the impression that she's not leaving any time soon.

"I love my job," Needleman said from a beach in Indiana. "I'm focusing on our Fall-Winter issues right now from the Midwest."

This report follows rumors Wednesday that T's former online director Horacio Silva was also in the running for the position. He's currently the director of content at the marketing communications and entertainment firm ALLDAYEVERYDAY, but before that Silva had been with T for 10 years.

He was reportedly in the running to replace Stefano Tonchi as editor in chief when Tonchi left to take the reins at W Magazine in March 2010. Singer was selected for the position in June 2010, and Silva made his exit in May 2011.

Another former staffer said that Singer's leaving may have something to do with how much money her version of T was — or wasn't — making. "The Times will always look at that magazine as a cash cow, and because it wasn't a cash cow under her, I think they were getting frustrated," the staffer said.

Photo: Horacio Silva at a New York Fashion Week event in February.

Sally Singer will leave her job as editor of T Magazine, the New York Times's fashion magazine, at the end of the week. No reason has been given for her departure, and the Times hasn't yet named a successor.

"Sally's contributions are clear to anyone who's read the magazine during her tenure," wrote the Times's executive editor Jill Abramson in a staff memo announcing Singer's departure. "Gorgeous visuals, interesting stories and enterprising features — both in print and online — have been hallmarks of her stewardship. We wish her every success."

While Singer may have expanded T's coverage to include interesting non-fashion stories, she didn't succeed in making it more profitable. T had, in the Times's former executive editor Bill Keller's estimation, been created to "generate the revenues that help subsidize the stuff that drew most of us into the business." But after a year on the job, T's advertising pages had only increased by .7 percent. The Spring 2012 fashion issue, for example, saw an eight percent decline in ads, which wasn't good news in a month where many other magazines, including Vogue, Glamour, W, and Harper's Bazaar posted ad page gains between two and 31 percent.

Singer came to T in June 2010, leaving her position as fashion news and features editor at Vogue. She replaced Stefano Tonchi, who had moved on to be editor in chief of W Magazine. At the time, Singer said, "I imagine at some point [T Magazine] will naturally evolve into something that reflects more my taste and concerns than those of my predecessor. But hopefully that will be an organic process and not an imposition."

>> Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

>> T's online director Horacio Silva, who has been working at the New York Times's fashion magazines for just over ten years now, has stepped down. "It's no secret I've been toying with the idea," he said. Silva was reportedly vying to replace Stefano Tonchi as T editor a year ago, a position which eventually went to Sally Singer. Silva noticeably doesn't mention Singer when saying he's grateful for the people he's worked with: "I have had the privilege of working with some amazing people, including three of the best editors T has gone through. Amy Spindler, Stefano Tonchi, and Andy Port." As for Silva's future plans, he says he has a number of brand clients lined up for consulting work. "It's an interesting time right now as the lines between editorial and advertising are becoming more and more nebulous, it'll be interesting to be in the forefront there," he explained. "I've also been threatening to write a book for some time." [The Cut]

• Givenchy called Adriana Lima when she was four months pregnant to walk in their Spring 2010 show, she says: "They take my measurements and I’m like, 'Oh my God, oh my God, I'm big!' And then they say, 'You’re not big enough!' Because they wanted to see the belly." [The Cut]
• Roland Mouret is anti-diffusion line: “I would never do a diffusion line. I don’t think the future is that. People mix brands all the time already, so you need to do something else. We are living in a different fashion world now.” [Style File]
• Karlie Kloss and Jourdan Dunn spent some quality time together yesterday, Kloss Tweeted: "Lovely day in London w/bff ms.dunn...lunch at Claridges, shopping at Selfridges, and now off to the eurostar...goodbye london hello paris!" [@karlie_kloss]
• Street style favorite and Harper's Bazaar senior fashion market editor Joanna Hillman is documenting her style daily during December for the magazine's blog [Harper's Bazaar]
• Gap's Spring 2011 faces include Anja Rubik, Liu Wen, Anais Mali, Carolyn Murphy, Karmen Pedaru, and Monika "Jac" Jagaciak [TFS]
• Talon cuff fans: Pamela Love just launched an online store [Pamela Love]
• Peek Naty Chabanenko in Cushnie et Ochs's new Spring 2011 lookbook (pictured) [Refinery29]
• Cathy Horyn takes an in-depth look at Chinese couturier Guo Pei as part of Sally Singer's first issue of T, which is slowing leaking online [T]