W’s September issue is almost upon newsstands, and readers may notice a few changes, thanks to new ed Stefano Tonchi. Travel essays and art appraisals have been thrown into the high-fashion mix, but Tonchi assures readers that the magazine will still feel cohesive. “There is a certain kind of narrative,” he explained. “And we tried to create that. It is missing from magazines so often. So many times magazines look like a collage of things just sent to them.”

We’re curious to see this cohesion firsthand. Apparently it involves blurbs from actresses describing their first on-camera sex scenes; an article on Kazuyo Sejima, the architect who is the director of the Venice Architecture Biennale; and plenty of photos of topless models decked out in jewels.

The September issue also marks the first time the publication has released three covers — the photos were shot by Inez and Vinoodh and feature eight up-and-coming actresses. And the main headline, “Great Expectations,” is Tonchi’s nod to Internet-generated hype over the magazine’s reshuffling. “I wanted to have some self-irony, because there are so many expectations about what this W will be, so it refers to these eight great new girls, but also to the pressure that we feel to satisfy the expectations that people have for the magazine.”

W is also set to debut a redesigned website next month, as well as an iPad app in February. Tonchi told readers, “It’s just the beginning of a new chapter in the long-running, stylish story of W.”

W Takes a New Direction [Media Decoder/NYT]
Memo Pad: On the W Watch [WWD]