queen of vogue

okay, maybe not queen of vogue....but, pretty close.  this morning, anna wintour was named artistic director of condé nast. she still keeps her titles of editor-in-chief of vogue & editorial director of teen vogue but now takes on some of the responsibilities of si newhouse jr., the chairmain & ceo of condé nast. according to the new york times, that will include advising editors on the company's other magazine, expanding those brands onto new platforms, finding new talent, & reinforcing aesthetics. the title was created especially for wintour. according to ny magazine, condé nast ceo charles townsend claims the company was willing to "go to great distances to avoid losing anna, particularly in the prime of her career."

rumour

page six is reporting that condé nast has gone to war with former french vogue editor carine roitfeld. sources say that jonathan newhouse, condés international chairman has been ordering photographers & editors not to work with roitfeld for her new magazine CR. apparently newhouse has sent word to major photographers that include mario testino, craig mcdean, david sims & mert alas & marcus piggott to "remind" them of their exclusivity with condé nast.

even those who aren't bound contractually to condé nast have been discouraged from working with roitfeld, fearing backlash from the publisher. one fashion insider said "people love carine but are more frightened of the condé nast machine."

tom florio exits conde nast

in a brief (two sentences) alert, wwd reported that tom florio will leave condé nast at the end of june. for those not familiar with the name, he's the senior v.p. and publishing director who backed up anna wintour in september issue insisting that she wasn't a cold hearted bitch, but rather just really busy. i'm sure there is much more to this story but looks like we'll have to wait and see.