It’s the same story, again and again, regarding Anna Wintour’s tenure at Vogue Magazine. CNN reports that Anna Wintour is rumored to be leaving Vogue Magazine in 2009, according to the gossip circulating at recent Fashion Week catwalk shows. As with the last round of rumors, Carine Roitfeld, editor-in-chief of French Vogue, has been named a likely replacement.
CNN followed Carine Roitfeld with a team of cameras during Fashion Week for their upcoming Revealed: Carine Roitfeld, which airs this week on CNN International.
Roitfeld was quick to deny the rumors, saying that she has not been offered the job. Nor would she be likely to take it, were it offered. “It’s a bit like for an actor. Do you want to go to Hollywood or do you want to stay here in Paris and do the cinema I like to do?,” Roitfeld said. “I think I prefer to stay here in Paris.”
French Vogue’s editor also realizes that while Vogue and French Vogue are sister publications, the behind-the-scenes working environment for each magazine is different. For starters, the circulation of Vogue is much higher than that of French Vogue; Vogue is simply a much larger enterprise and seeks to have broader reader appeal, which makes for increased pressure.
CNN notes that the reader base of French Vogue is a “select group of incredibly stylish and wealthy women who are thrilled rather than alienated by unconventional ideas” — which Roitfeld is acutely aware of and successful at catering to. She thus recognizes that the kind of innovation that works for French Vogue might very well flop if presented in an issue of American Vogue.
Roitfeld also quips that she’s not sure her English is good enough to take on the role of editor at French Vogue‘s American counterpart.
Will these rumors ever be put to rest? It seems unlikely. Anna Wintour has helmed Vogue for more than 20 years and will soon turn 60, which only serves to further fuel the gossip. I’ll believe that Wintour is stepping down when she confirms it herself; I think Anna Wintour is doing a fabulous job at Vogue and should continue. Even if she were to step down, I doubt, however, the likelihood that Carine Roitfeld would be named her successor, for many of the reasons stated above.
One has to wonder if the rumors are reaching new light as part of CNN’s effort to promote and publicize Revealed: Carine Roitfeld.
Source: CNN
