NEW YORK – It was perhaps the most sought-after job in shelter magazine publishing and now Margaret Russell has it.
The Conde Nast announcement last week that Russell had been named editor of Architectural Digest – considered the grande dame of the business – was not totally unexpected as it followed much speculation within the trade.
But the stakes on who would succeed the legendary Paige Rense in the position are nonetheless huge. AD magazine has been particularly hard hit during the downturn in both the print magazine and home furnishings industries. Elle Décor, where Russell served as vice president and editor in chief of content — having taken on the chief editors spot in 2000 – has ridden out the recession better than most if its competitors.
No successor was named at Elle Décor, which no doubt will set off a new round of speculation on what happens there. Russell begins her new job on Sept. 7 and in the process the AD editorial offices will move from Los Angeles, where they had been under Rense, to New York.