NEW CHIEFS: Peter Brant wasted no time in staffing up Brant Publications after Ingrid Sischy and Sandra Brant revealed they were leaving its flagship title, Interview, and Sandra Brant was selling her 50 percent stake in the company to her ex-husband and co-owner, Peter. On Thursday, Brant tapped Interview veterans Glenn O'Brien and Fabien Baron as co-editorial directors overseeing all three of the company's publications — Interview, Art in America and The Magazine Antiques. Both will officially take their positions on Feb. 22, the day Sandra Brant's sale is final.
Brant and his new team had been in talks about their new roles at the company for the last six months.
Reached by phone late Thursday night, Peter Brant explained his vision for the next generation of Interview. "The vision is to carry on the legacy of what it meant to [Warhol], interested in the performance arts, the visual arts and very interested in fashion and the glamorous side of fashion." He also said, "Some of the best issues were issues that Fabien Baron designed and Glenn O'Brien were actively involved in putting together. Those Madonna issues were very important at that time. Fabien's one of the best art design people. Glenn has a very good feel on what's happening culturally in New York."
"We're going to try and do something really different," said O'Brien. "Sort of in the spirit of what Andy Warhol would have done if he were around. We're going to make it young, surprising, funny and beautiful." O'Brien and Baron's presence likely will be felt in the May issue of Interview.
O'Brien first joined Interview in the Seventies and became editor and art director of the title when he was just 24. He left to work at several publications including Rolling Stone but, in 1990, rejoined the staff as editor at large while simultaneously serving as creative director at Barneys New York. It was then that he and Baron helped Sischy redesign the title. O'Brien also created ads for Barneys, Calvin Klein, Swatch, Dior and Nike. He also penned several books and writes columns for GQ and Italian Vanity Fair.
In addition to running his own ad agency, Baron was most recently creative director at French Vogue but on Thursday gave up that position. He has also been a creative director at Italian Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Arena Homme Plus and Vogue Paris.
Brant and his new team had been in talks about their new roles at the company for the last six months.
Reached by phone late Thursday night, Peter Brant explained his vision for the next generation of Interview. "The vision is to carry on the legacy of what it meant to [Warhol], interested in the performance arts, the visual arts and very interested in fashion and the glamorous side of fashion." He also said, "Some of the best issues were issues that Fabien Baron designed and Glenn O'Brien were actively involved in putting together. Those Madonna issues were very important at that time. Fabien's one of the best art design people. Glenn has a very good feel on what's happening culturally in New York."
"We're going to try and do something really different," said O'Brien. "Sort of in the spirit of what Andy Warhol would have done if he were around. We're going to make it young, surprising, funny and beautiful." O'Brien and Baron's presence likely will be felt in the May issue of Interview.
O'Brien first joined Interview in the Seventies and became editor and art director of the title when he was just 24. He left to work at several publications including Rolling Stone but, in 1990, rejoined the staff as editor at large while simultaneously serving as creative director at Barneys New York. It was then that he and Baron helped Sischy redesign the title. O'Brien also created ads for Barneys, Calvin Klein, Swatch, Dior and Nike. He also penned several books and writes columns for GQ and Italian Vanity Fair.
In addition to running his own ad agency, Baron was most recently creative director at French Vogue but on Thursday gave up that position. He has also been a creative director at Italian Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Arena Homme Plus and Vogue Paris.
