Kate White

Joanna Coles says she doesn't want to rock the boat at Cosmopolitan now that she's been appointed the magazine's editor in chief.

"I'm looking forward to meeting the staff properly and getting in there and getting my head under the hood," Coles told us Wednesday after moderating a panel at the Democratic National Convention. "It's very successful. I'm not going to muddle."

Coles added that under her watch, the magazine will still be dedicated to "strong, independent women who like to have fun. I mean, Helen Gurley Brown's idea was, 'Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere,'" she said. "I'd rather be a bad girl."

While Coles — previously editor of Marie Claire for over six years — may not have specific plans for the magazine itself, she told WWD on Tuesday that she has "ideas for partnerships and leveraging some of the brand and expanding various bits of it. Opening it up more editorially."

Coles will officially take over for outgoing editor Kate White on Sept. 10. She will be replaced at Marie Claire by Annie Fulenwider, the former editor in chief of Brides.

— Additional reporting by Annie Scudder.

Photo via Marie Claire.

Stefano Pilati isn't the only big name in fashion with a new job. Joanna Coles, editor of Marie Claire, will take over for Cosmopolitan editor Kate White on Sept. 10 — right in the middle of New York Fashion Week.

"Cosmopolitan is an iconic brand that resonates with women worldwide," Coles said in a statement. "To be able to take over the flagship edition is both a huge challenge and an incredible opportunity. I relish the chance to put my stamp on Cosmo and make it the young woman's ultimate playbook for confidence, choices and navigating change."

Coles, who has filed stories everywhere from the BBC to New York Magazine, introduced Marie Claire to the world of reality television. In 2008 she produced Running in Heels, a competition show set in the magazine's offices. She also got the brand's name on Project Runway when she hired Nina Garcia as Marie Claire's fashion director the same year.

White had been editor of Cosmopolitan for 14 years. She left to pursue her own writing and speaking engagements.

Update: Coles's office at Marie Claire will now be occupied by Anne Fulenwider, who served as the magazine's executive editor for two years until she became editor in chief of Brides in late 2011. "I have such a strong attachment to the brand and what it delivers to the savvy, stylish women who read it," Fulenwider said about her homecoming. "I look forward to contributing to its continued success on every front — from print to digital to television."

Photo via Joanna Coles.