Ferrari is highly rated within Time Inc, where she launched Teen People in January 1998 and which has gone on to become one of the fastest-growing launches in publishing history with a circulation of around 1.6m. She left the magazine last February and moved to Europe with her boyfriend Henry Muller, also of Time Inc.
Ferrari has been appointed as editorial director on an interim basis until a replacement can be found.
The news of Brule's departure ends months of speculation about his future at Wallpaper, following a number of high-profile clashes with management at IPC Media, the AOL Time Warner division that controls Wallpaper, about his extravagant lifestyle. He is stepping down as editorial director of the Wallpaper Group to concentrate on his role as CEO of Wink, the creative consultancy he set up in 1998.
Earlier this year, Richard Johnson, former publishing manager of Loaded, was drafted in by IPC Media to work underneath Brule, in a move seen as part of an attempt to loosen his grip on the title.
However, it was in the May/June issue of Wallpaper that Brule hinted at what his future holds. In his editorial, he signed off: "As for me gentle readers, little more to say than thank you and adieu."
In a company statement, Brule came across as gracious about his years at Time, but carefully avoided any mention of IPC Media, which he found himself part of following AOL Time Warner's £1.15bn acquisition of the UK publisher in July 2001.
Brule said: "The editor's post at Wallpaper is one of the plum positions in publishing and Time Inc one of the best homes for a journalist. The last six years have been an incredible exercise in brand building and I felt the time is right to use this experience to build up Wink across a variety of sectors."
When Brule launched Wallpaper in 1996 it was viewed as the ultimate style guide. It was bought by Time one year later.
The Wallpaper Group, which also publishes Wallpaper spin-off title Spruce, was taken over by IPC Media soon after the publisher was bought by Time parent AOL Time Warner last summer.
Wallpaper's circulation has grown by 67% since it was bought by Time in 1998, when it recorded an ABC of just 80,748. In February 2002, the title had an ABC of 131,994.
It has the largest international circulation of any UK ABC-certified magazine, with just 27% of its readers in the UK.
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