Carine Roitfeld's Last Vogue Paris
jeudi 24 février 2011 
Just in time for the release on newsstands tomorrow, our Paris editor-at-large Milla Msa shares with us her monthly review of Vogue Paris; the news is bittersweet because of course the March issue is Carine Roitfeld's last. One bit of sweetness: I was thrilled to see that Carine chose a photograph of herself to illustrate her last editorial and best of all the photograph was taken by Pierre-Alban HF from The Crowd, a regular contributor to the site. In fact, I am delighted to note that this same photo appeared on I Want To Be A Roitfeld last December in "Carine Roitfeld In The Crowd." Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Pierre!
Carine Roitfeld's Last Vogue Paris
By Milla Msa
Everybody you know and their priest has been talking about it for months and here it is, on my dining table: Carine Roitfeld’s last issue of Vogue Paris. How lucky am I?! Very, people, very. The cover, which some find dull and, well, lacking in Carine’s usual controversy is considerably better in reality though I’m still not sold on Saskia de Brauw’s eyebrows. I’ll get the negatives out of the way first: far too much advertising. It’s like the September issue of Vogue US, and that’s not a good thing.
Carine’s handwritten "Edito" is positive, grateful, and there is a real you-have-not-seen-the-last-of-me vibe. Her sign-off reminds us to look out for our girl. I love the final line:
“C’est parce que tout doit finir que tout est si beau... À bientôt.”
The more I learn about Carine — and it only hit me recently when I read her Style.com interview — the more I respect her. This is a woman who does her best and as long as she’s happy with that, who cares what others think. Of course I don’t know her, and what you see of any public figure isn’t enough to judge, but I get the impression that Carine is strong, honest, and very genuine. Sweet, no, but yes, there is something very genuine about her. I love the personal touch of her words by her hand and add the background image of Madame Roitfeld with her trademark hair-in-face pose which just screams confidence. [Editor's note: This is the photograph by Pierre-Alban HF.]
She thanks Condé Nast chairman Jonathan Newman for allowing her to completely express herself. More importantly, she thanks us — the Vogue Paris readers for our loyalty to the magazine. Was Carine sacked? Did she agree to start Vanity Fair/Harper’s in France? When will we next see her? I don’t have the answers (yet) but this issue could not have arrived at a better time. It has reminded me to stay focused and to do what is right for me as Carine’s tone mirrors the motto I adopted at 18 years old: “Absolutely no regrets.” I cannot wait to see what she does next. I am going on record as calling this the best Vogue Paris "Edito" ever.
One thing we don’t see very often in Vogue Paris are new designers, so why now? Sonia Rachline write about several new London-based designers from Louise Gray to Mary Katrantzou to Michael van der Ham — names to watch. I love that Vogue Paris is bigging up my city!
“Coeur a corps perdu” is the first Madame Roitfeld editorial of her last issue and features the cover model, Saskia, and Daphne. It’s sexual, confusing, and... well... odd but in the best possible way. The grainy, film-like images set this editorial apart from the rest, though I still don’t know what film it is based on. If it’s obvious, I’m sorry. I only started watching television and film three years ago when I met my husband. Photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, we see stunning pieces from Vivienne Westwood, Emilio Pucci, Givenchy, and Miu Miu. Does anybody else feel a voyeurism vibe here? Hmmn...
So there you have it. She is gone and now Madame Alt is at the helm of my favourite magazine. I have been an avid reader of Vogue Paris since 2001. I’m curious about the changes and I must admit that Emmanuelle putting Gisele on the cover doesn’t bode well with me. We will see... Tell me, what do you think about Carine’s last issue?
À bientôt Madame Roitfeld...
Vogue Paris editorial image © 2011 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.
Carine Roitfeld in Fashion, Magazines, Milla Msa, Vogue Paris
Reader Comments (6)
I love the image and the wording. It's just, well... so Carine!