This afternoon I was forwarded an e-mail regarding Hellin Kay, the former Women’s Wear Daily west coast fashion editor who has helmed local style mag Signature for eight months as both editor-in-chief and creative director. The e-mail in full:

Dear Signature Friends,

I apologize if you are receiving this email twice.

We are announcing that Hellin Kay’s positions as Editor-In-Chief and Creative Director with Signature Magazine has been put on hold until further notice.

At this time she is not authorized to pull or request samples, wardrobe, scheduling photo shoots, or meeting clients about potential editorial content on behalf of Signature Magazine.

Any questions, concerns, or pitches should be sent to the contact info below.

Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely Yours,

Ian Bertrand and Oren Levy

Publsihers [sic]
Signature Magazine

[end]

In full disclosure, Kay and I both worked at Conde Nast Publications when she was at WWD and I was west coast editor of the now–defunct (sigh) men’s fashion trade DNR. I’ve also written twice for Signature. Kay is a strong personality and doesn’t suffer fools—I’m sure her interns past and present can attest to that—but she was a remarkable colleague and I’ve seen her do amazing work. She’s also no new-to-the-business twit. In addition to WWD, Kay has worked for Allure under legendary fashion editor Polly Mellen, as well as Russian Vogue, Spoon and Harper’s Bazaar. She recently nabbed uber-famous photographer Michel Comte to shoot a cover featuring Meg Ryan in menswear labels including John Bartlett. If you don’t know Kay’s work in Signature, you’ve seen her past billboard campaigns in L.A. for Joe’s Jeans (she’s also a well-known photographer in her own right).

So what happened? I called one of the publishers, Oren Levy, who told me that he was “very surprised” that Kay had left the magazine with her assistants and interns. “This came without any notice to me or my partner, and as publishers we should be notified.” As for the e-mail he sent out, Levy responded, “We had no choice but to protect the integrity of the company … We had to make sure there were nothing else being booked or pulled for the magazine.”

In an e-mail response, Kay confirmed she had left the magazine, though she has not officially resigned, and was brief as to the reason: “I know the publishers put their heart and soul into putting the right team together in order for us to build Signature. Unfortunately our creative differences have compelled me to move on.”