Vogue Paris Translation: Editorial, October 2009
lundi 12 octobre 2009 
Here is my attempt to translate Carine Roitfeld's editorial for the October issue of Vogue Paris from French to English. If native French speakers have suggestions to improve the translation, please do let me know.
On sait que la mode a pour vocation de créer de l'éphémère. De souffler sans cesse sur les braises du désir, de huiler la mécanique de l'envie et, pour ce faire, de brûler ce qu'elle a inventé six mois plus tôt dans un éternel cycle de création-destruction grisant mais implacable. Dans ce tourbillon du glamour, elles incarnent la stabilité, le rêve sans fin. Top models. Avec elles, sont nées au milieu des années 80 ces trois syllabes synonymes de beauté défiant le lois de la raison, de mensurations vertige, de charisme à faire pâlir les stars de Hollywood, de contrats en millions de dollars, de love-stories paparazzées au kilomètre. Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, Eva Herzigova, Yasmin Le Bon, Kristen McMenamy... sont les grandes actrices de la ‹‹gloss épopée›› de la mode, des fantasmes pour des millions d'hommes, des idoles pour autant de petites filles. Elles trustent le haut de l'affiche et leur aura cloue le bec au temps qui passe. Quel est leur secret? Un mystère. Et c'est mieux ainsi. On ne sous-titre pas la légende.
We know that fashion aims to create the ephemeral. Constantly fanning the embers of desire, oiling the mechanics of lust, burning what she invented six months earlier in an eternal cycle of creation and destruction that is exhilarating but relentless. In this swirl of glamour, they embody stability, the endless dream. Top models. With them an era was born in the mid 1980s in which the three syllables became synonymous with beauty that defies the law of reason, the measurement of giddiness, the charisma that makes the stars of Hollywood fade, the contracts in the millions of dollars, the paparazzi love stories by the kilometer. Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, Eva Herzigova, Yasmin Le Bon, Kristen McMenamy... are the great actresses of the "glossy era" of fashion, the phantasms for millions of men, the idols for as many young girls. They monopolize the top of the bill and they grow silent as time passes. What is their secret? A mystery. And it's better this way. The legend is not subtitled.
Vogue Paris editorial image © 2009 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.
Carine Roitfeld in Editorial, Fashion, Translation, Vogue Paris 
Reader Comments (6)
Ah, Kellina, you are a treasure trove of all things Roitfeldian !
Merci beaucoup, mon cher.
I love her way of writing about fashion, thanks for the translation!
Happy to do it, Kate! I am so glad to hear that. I love her way of writing, too, and I wish I could do a better job translating. French idioms I have yet to master but I will persist. Do you have any interest in learning French or do you speak other languages besides English?
I really should learn Japanese since my husband is Japanese, but it's soooo hard to persist. I lack motivation. I did have a brief interest in learning French years back, but again, lacked the necessary motivation in the end. I think your translations are good, actually!
Kate, you should learn Japanese! I hear you re: motivation though. It's tough. Making it habitual is the best motivation I can find. I try to make my daily study so routine that my day seems odd without it. Thank you for your kind words about my translations!