congratulations on the site. i can tell a lot of hard work went into it. the navigation bar is screwy in firefox. the lettering is big and runs over into two lines. by using explorer, i can see your desired effect and it's much sleeker looking.
overall, the design could use more air. below the header, the top of the page is squished tightly together, which creates an unfocused jumble. there's no harmony visually. the ads on the right are waging war against the photos on the left, firing volleys across that gully that runs down the page in between them.
the style news feature is a bit confusing, too. i looked for a link. finding none, i decided to click on a photo, but since anna wintour was the only person i recognized in the photos i didn't know why i'd want to click on any of the others. (realized later, of course, that it's all just one link taking us to the main feature, but i first assumed each photo would take me some place distinct. using a text link would end the confusion.) also it seems the photos are arranged in a haphazard way. mccartney's photo is big, centered and in color, leading the viewer to think her accomplishments (or at least your story on her) will be the main feature, but that isn't the case.
i don't like that some links open a new page for no apparent reason while some of them don't. also, while i'm mostly commenting on the design, i must say that the 'style news' story seems strange. it's a year-end type piece reviewing the big fashion events of 2009, but since it's only october it also projects ahead. it should do one or the other but not both.
this is an extremely ambitious undertaking. considering the competition you're up against and the work, staff and money it would take to do an online fashion magazine well, i wonder if a blog wouldn't be a better idea.
by the way, i love your story about why you started the magazine. hurrah to you for turning down that job after that editor did what she did. but just think about the readership you could build if you posted all this material to a blog instead of a whole online magazine - looks like it would be several posts a day, good for building an audience. unless you've got or can get moneyed backers, i think you should rethink the magazine idea.
