So the brave/lucky/cursed soul bestowed with the duty of picking up French Vogue from where Carine Roitfeld bid it au revoir, is its very own Fashion Director, Emmanuelle Alt. Joining the mag at the same time as Roitfeld in 2000, Alt perhaps seemed the inevitable choice, non? Thus far her peers have been gushing about her appointment, however, never backwards in coming forwards (and always first in line to offer his tuppence worth) of course, is Karl L. Ah, good old Unkle K, we can always rely on you to play devils advocate. Despite having commissioned her in the past to style Chanel campaigns, he remains dubious of her promotion;

“Her style is her big shoulders, long legs, tight jeans, sleeves up to the elbow, one hip out,” he mused. “I personally like her. She’s a handsome French woman. She has a style, but is it enough to make a whole magazine?”

Hmm. A bitchy aside? Or does he have a point? There’s no denying Roitfeld’s indelible tough-aggressive-sexy stamp she hallmarked on Vogue’s every page, so will a distinctly less S n’ M inclined Alt pull a volte-face on the mag’s aesthetic? Well Condé Nast France president, Xavier Romatet doesn’t think so, insisting Alt’s work will be simply be a “progression” of the, err, NSFW blueprint Roitfeld imbued it with.

“Working with a very talented team, I will devote myself to developing the incredible potential of Vogue Paris,” reckons Alt herself. Let’s face it, given that it’s an open secret Alt was a major advisor to Christophe Decarnin at Balmain, this is a woman who knows her shit.

Posted on January 12, 2011 at 5:38:12 by The Real Runway