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from fashionweekdaily...

Fabien Baron and Glenn O'Brien have been named editorial directors of Brant Publications, company chairman Peter M. Brant announced Thursday. Their appointments are effective February 22. Baron and O'Brien will be responsible for overseeing all three publications, which include Interview, Art in America, and The Magazine Antiques.

The duo's presence will be noted starting with the May issue of Interview.
O'Brien was most recently a columnist for Vanity Fair Italia and GQ, where he will continue to contribute. He began his career working for Interview, becoming the editor and art director of the magazine at age 24, where he helped shape the magazine through the largest growth in the history of the publication. He subsequently has worked at such titles as Spin, Allure, Mirabella, Harper's Bazaar, and others. "It is especially rewarding for me to be involved with Interview, the magazine where I started out and one that has always been close to my heart," he said. "I am grateful for the hard work of Sandy Brant and Ingrid Sischy in keeping Andy Warhol's vision alive and I am confident that our team will carry on this important legacy with energy and imagination."

In 1990, when Brant Publications acquired Interview from the estate of Andy Warhol, O'Brien joined the staff as editor-at-large, dividing his time between the magazine and his position as creative director at Barneys New York. With Baron as creative director, the two drastically redesigned Interview with Sischy.

Sandra Brant, as reported Wednesday, sold her 50 percent share of the company to her co-owner and ex-husband Peter Brant. She has also resigned and relinquished her title as chief executive officer, president, and publisher of Brant Publications.

Sischy has also resigned as editor-in-chief of Interview.

In a statement, Brant stated, "I would like to thank Sandy Brant for her hard work and loyalty to these magazines over so many years. I am extremely excited by this opportunity to again be involved with these three prestigious cultural titles and to work in the worlds of fashion, film, art and the decorative arts--areas which I have been actively involved in for my entire adult life. Glenn O'Brien and Fabien Baron have the mature vision to help me guide these magazines forward, and above all have the good sense to follow Andy Warhol's vision of tapping into creative ideas from today's youth culture."

At Thursday night's Sidaction AIDS benefit in Paris, French Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld confirmed that Baron has resigned from the Condé Nast title. Thursday had been his last day. "He was there for a long time and it was the right move," she told Fashion Week Daily exclusively. "I'm very happy for him." Roitfeld said that there are no plans to replace Baron as the magazine's creative director. Instead, the current art director will assume a larger role in communicating the magazine's image. "You cannot replace Fabien," Roitfeld said woefully.

A graduate of the École des Arts Appliqués in France, Baron was hired by GQ at the age of 23 in 1982, where he soon was recruited to the position of creative director of Barneys as well. In 1988, Condé Nast enlisted him to redesign Italian Vogue under editor Franca Sozzani. A year-and-a-half later, he returned to New York to become creative director of Interview magazine from 1990 to 1992 during its relaunch. Baron was credited for morphing Interview into the premier title to showcase the best in contemporary photography, illustration, and typographic design.

In 1992, the late Liz Tilberis hired him to reinvent Harper's Bazaar, which he transformed elegantly and with innovation, giving it a fresh, modern look that was clutter-free and desirable.

From 2000 to 2002, Baron was editor-in-chief and design director of Arena Homme Plus, the trend-setting London-based men's fashion magazine. In July 2003, Roitfeld, a former Gucci stylist who replaced Joan Juliet Buck as editor-in-chief of French Vogue, tapped him to be her creative director. Together, the powerful duo transformed French Vogue into one of the premier high fashion books in the world.

Baron will continue to run his highly lucrative advertising and design agency Baron & Baron, where his clients include Balenciaga, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Miu Miu, Dolce & Gabbana, Pringle, and Prada, among others.

In addition to his magazine and advertising work, Baron has emerged as a photographer, a commercial director, and one of the world's leading product designers, creating brands for fragrances and beverages, sunglasses, books, and furniture.

"This is a fantastic challenge," said Baron. "Very few magazines concern themselves with all of the influences in our culture--art, fashion, film, and literature. We have the chance to do something really new and special with these magazines. I'm looking forward to bringing a new vigor and energy into them and I think we that can really be a force for cultural change today."