The week before Thanksgiving holiday saw a lot of celebrations, especially for Architectural Digest's New Editor in Chief. On Wednesday evening, Conde Nast Chairman S.I. Newhouse, Jr., Conde Nast CEO Charles H. Townsend, and Architectural Digest VP and Publisher Giulio Capua toasted Russell at Tom Colicchio's new waterfront restaurant, Riverpark. The space is impressive and vast, and yet it still managed to be nearly bursting at the seams with friends and well-wishers that read like a who's who of the design, lifestyle and media worlds. Among the notables were Bravo's Andy Cohen, who deserves a "mazel tov" for "kibitzing" with Russell on the red carpet; Arie Kopelman; Bunny Williams; Campion Platt; Colin Cowie; Geoffrey Bradfield; Roric Tobin; Zang Toi; Nate Berkus; Reed Krakoff; Nina Griscom; and Richard Meier.
As for Russell herself, she informed me that her tenure at the magazine will mark an "evolution and not a full scale change." "It's an iconic magazine," she continued, "so any changes are about refreshing, but keeping in mind what [the magazine] has been and what it should be." To that end, she plans to shoot interiors slightly differently; namely, with more fresh air and sunlight.
The following evening, Russell was the guest of honor at yet another fete, this one at Calvin Klein's Madison Avenue flagship store, to celebrate the unveiling of their Holiday 2010 window installation. Francisco Costa welcomed close friends like Carlos Souza to (once again) toast Russell and to celebrate what is arguably the most popular art form of the holiday season: the store window. Unfortunately, the day after proved decidedly less glamorous for Ms. Russell, as the newly anointed E-I-C was headed to a New York hospital for ankle surgery. Let us hope that she took advantage of the Thanksgiving break to make a speedy recovery.