Known for her rock-chic aesthetic (think fitted leather jackets and Balmain), the French editor has been with the publication since 2000 when Roitfeld came on board. Until recently, she was the fashion director and has styled for high-end brands including Balmain, Isabel Marant, and Gucci – so expect these designers to be as prominently displayed in the magazine as Tom Ford was under Roitfeld’s direction.
Here’s where it gets interesting, though. When Roitfeld left her position at the end of 2010, there was quite a bit of online chatter that she may have been fired. Opting to anoint Alt to this powerful role indicates that Condé Nast is happy with the often controversial direction of Vogue Paris under the leadership of Roitfeld, and that the executives are hoping to continue in that vein. In fact, on the Vogue Paris website, Condé Nast France President, Xavier Romatet, is quoted saying, “Vogue Paris se porte très bien et je souhaitais confier la rédaction en chef à quelqu’un qui puisse assurer une certaine continuité tout en apportant un souffle nouveau,” which roughly translates to him saying that Vogue Paris is doing very well and that he wanted to offer the position to someone who could assure that this continues, while bringing a breath of fresh air. It is, after all, hard to argue with hard numbers and a circulation that rose from 100,000 to 140,000 when Roitfeld took the helm of the influential magazine. Further, unlike American Vogue, there hasn’t been much of an uproar about wanting the magazine to undergo a major makeover.
That said, Fashionista.com got their hands on some juicy gossip – they’re reporting that Roitfeld and Alt haven’t been getting along as of late (which would explain why Roitfeld let a slew of designers know that she would be stepping down from her position, but did not give Alt any notification prior to the announcement). Further, their sources claim that Roitfeld went to Jonathan Newhouse, complaining that ‘something had to be done’ about the situation with Alt. Unfortunately for Roitfeld, that something was her resignation.
We will, perhaps, never know the true reasons for Roitfeld’s departure, but the fashion world waits with baited breath to see what the former editor-in-chief will do next, and what her successor will bring to Vogue Paris.
Tell us, is Emmanuelle Alt right for the editor-in-chief job? Plus, see what they’re saying about this controversial move in theFashionSpot forums.
