Joe McKenna

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.

>> Carine Roitfeld isn't totally letting go of her French roots, despite teaming up with Barneys stateside for a multifaceted Fall 2010 initiative; she also styled Chanel's Fall 2011 campaign, which Karl Lagerfeld just shot in Paris. Featured is perennial Chanel face Freja Beha Erichsen — Fall 2011 marks her fifth consecutive campaign for the house but her first solo. “The mix with Freja was genius,” Lagerfeld promises.

Lagerfeld is also repeating a face at Fendi— he's shooting Anja Rubik for her fourth straight campaign next week (“I like to work with the same girls and boys all the time,” he quips.). As is Michael Kors, who tapped Karmen Pedaru for the second time in a row, posting a picture from the Fall 2011 campaign shoot yesterday on his official Facebook. Over at Yves Saint Laurent, meanwhile, the supporting team is the same — Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin behind the lens and Joe McKenna styling — but Raquel Zimmerman is reportedly the Fall 2011 subject, replacing Spring 2011's Arizona Muse.

But back to Lagerfeld: in preparation of the upcoming Chanel Cruise 2012 fashion show in Antibes on May 9, he's gathering Erichsen, Lady Amanda Harlech, Anna Mouglalis, and Kristen McMenamy to star in his annual Chanel Cruise short film. This one, he's shooting in Monaco and the South of France.

>> INSIDER WIRE —Some are surprised that Fabien Baron is being welcomed back at Interview, given the magazine's financial state and that Baron was originally let go because he was going over budget.  Apparently, fashion director Joe McKenna — who is expected to leave — cancelled a recent shoot on grounds of nonpayment, creative directors Michael Amzalag and Mathias Augustyniak of M/M Paris quit because they are owed three months pay plus expenses, and a number of retouchers and photographers are owed, including Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, who have not been paid for their August 2009 cover story. [FWD]

>> INSIDER WIRE —Fabien Baron may be back at Interview, but it sounds like creative directors Michael Amzalag and Mathias Augustyniak of M/M Paris and fashion director Joe McKenna, who both came on after Baron left the magazine in January, are on their way out.  Karl Templer, who served as creative director under Baron the first time, is expected back imminently — official announcements are expected within a week. [FWD]

>> BLOWING THE COVER —M/M Paris's revamp of Interview, complete with new handwritten logo (influenced by the one used in the '70s) and new layout (which supposedly includes less model-heavy fashion editorial), debuts with the April 2009 issue featuring Zac Efron.  There seems to be no hard feelings between Fabien Baron and one half of M/M Paris, Michael Amzalag, but the graphic design duo, together with newly-named fashion director Joe McKenna (who replaces Karl Templer) have their work cut out for them: ad pages dropped 27 percent in 2008, and another 38 percent in the first quarter of 2009. [WWD]

>>  If one fashion magazine isn't hurt by the current economic conditions, it has to be Katie Grand's new endeavor for Conde Nast UK, Love.  The "high-end," "edgy" magazine, which was originally being tossed around for a February or March 2009 launch, is going full-steam ahead — new logo above — with an official launch on Feb. 19.  Katie has taken most of her team from POP — including creative directors Lee Swillingham and Stuart Spalding, plus fashion editor Phoebe Arnold, who masqueraded around as a gravestone with the POP logo on it at Halloween.

New additions to the team include — as rumored — Francesca Burns, formerly of i-D, as senior fashion editor-at-large, plus Mark Frith, former editor of celebrity rag Heat, as editorial consultant.  And Katie won't be the only stylist heavyweight on board — Joe McKenna is on the masthead as senior contributing fashion editor.