Stefano Tonchi’s tenure at W as Editor-in-Chief has come to a close as first reported by WWD. The departure comes in tangent as Condé Nast sold W to Surface Magazine. The Italian editor has held the reins at the title since 2010, having previously held the same title at T: The New York Times Style Magazine.
Tonchi’s sleek sophisticated eye brought a new breath of life into W. The magazine founded by John Fairchild in 1972, took traditional Hollywood glamour, and made it a bit grittier. Edward Enninful’s appointment as Style Director in 2011 was a big contribution.
Sara Moonves—who has been W’s Style Director since 2017—will take on Tonchi’s role as Editor-in-Chief. The sale has been rumored for quite a while. In December of 2017, Conde Nast announced that the magazine would downsize from 10 issues to 8 “volumes” at an increased price. This is the third sale of a Condé Nast title under its new CEO Roger Lynch: see Brides and Golf Digest. In a statement to WWD, Tonchi said I’m “Incredibly grateful to my team, my W family, who have been instrumental to the magazine’s success.”
The sale of W also included W Korea. Surface has reported that 30 members of the current staff will stay on at the magazine, including current Editor-at-Large Lynn Hirschberg.
We are excited to see Moonves’ vision for the title and can’t wait to see what Tonchi does next independently.