Julie Belcove

>> More Staff Changes at Vogue, W —With fashion news and features director Sally Singer officially departing Vogue to become editor at T, Anna Wintour wasted no time with promotions — associate editor Eve MacSweeney will become the new features director, and senior fashion writer Mark Holgate will become fashion news director. Vogue fashion writer Florence Kane also reportedly left the magazine to become senior editor at C Magazine in Los Angeles, a position she starts Monday. And finally, layoffs hit W today, which are said to include the magazine's longtime deputy editor Julie Belcove, senior fashion features editor Dana Wood, editorial manager Brian Sullivan, and assistant editorial manager Lauren Kill. [WWD, @jimshi809, DFR]

>> When Stefano Tonchi was announced as W's new editor-in-chief yesterday, he said he only began talking with Conde Nast about the position last week. But WWD reports that Tonchi had been looking to leave T for more than a year, and was lobbying hard for a senior position at Conde Nast as well as looking at the possibility of a high-level position at Hearst or Time Inc.

Big changes for W under Tonchi are expected, and although he emphasized that the transition will be smooth — “Nothing is going to be traumatic. I don’t think there is any rush to make a revolution. It’s an evolution, it’s not a revolution” — those at the top of the W masthead — creative director Dennis Freedman, deputy editor Julie Belcove, and fashion director Alex White — are said to be in vulnerable positions.

White was reportedly interested in the editor gig »

>> While the new W editor-in-chief could be announced as early as today and Stefano Tonchi seems to be the man for the job, the New York Post reports that former W fashion director (and current Elle creative director) Joe Zee is "in a neck and neck race" with Tonchi. Meanwhile, Fashion Week Daily has a full list of potentials for the job — Tonchi, Zee, Carine Roitfeld, Kate Betts, Katie Grand.

But what about the rest of the W staff? The Daily reports that the departure of W editor and editorial director Patrick McCarthy came as a shock, and so far, there has not been a formal staff meeting about all the changes.  The Daily's sources are convinced that creative director Dennis Freedman, design director Edward Leida, and fashion director Alex White will all leave the magazine — and possibly deputy editor Julie Belcove, who is said to be "a wreck," as well.

Meanwhile, The Daily is surmising that W senior contributing fashion editor could stay on as fashion director, and Tonchi's close friend Anne Slowey, Elle's fashion news director, is a top contender for executive editor at W (or perhaps Tonchi's position at T).

>> Conde Nast announced today that all editorial and business operations for W magazine will be moved out of the Fairchild Fashion Group, which currently includes WWD, WWD.com, and Footwear News among its purveyance. The senior editorial staff currently shared by W and WWD now exclusively work for WWD, and Patrick McCarthy, chairman of the Fairchild Fashion Group, will continue in his role through the end of the year.

Conde Nast CEO Chuck Townsend noted of the restructuring: “This formally establishes a structure for W consistent with our other consumer magazine titles, and allows FFG the autonomy to focus on their core business-to-business publications and related businesses.” Thomas J. Wallace, editorial director of Conde Nast, will name an editor-in-chief of W in the coming months. Fashionista suggests that internal options for the job include W's executive editor Bridget Foley or deputy editor Julie Belcove, who currently writes the editor's letter, but it's also a strong possibly that with the sharp decrease in advertising sales the magazine experienced last year (down 45.8 percent), a new face may be brought on.