THE FASHION EDITOR AS CELEBRITY

Carine Roitfeld (Image from Nymag.com)

The line between fashion editor and celebrity has long been blurred thanks, largely, to the rise of the blogosphere. Since as far back as 2006, photobloggers like Scott Schuman and Tommy Ton of the Jak and Jil blog have been snapping fashion industry giants like Anna dello Russo, Emmaneulle Alt and her predecessor at French Vogue Carine Roitfeld and the result has been an ever increasing adoration of these stylish fashion dames.

While Anna Wintour, for instance, has forever been the subject of media scrutiny it is no longer surprising to find Roitfeld, for one, being profiled in a 2000 word feature in any fashion magazine or newspaper. In fact, when she left French Vogue last year, I think I personally read at least three different profiles where journalists sought to figure out where-to-next for her while unpacking her personal style.
Some two weeks ago, The New York Times speculated that she may be seeking to start her own magazine title, while simultaneously rising meteorically to unprecedented fashion superstardom. Months after leaving the influential Condenast group (the publishers of Vogue), Roitfeld’s star power seems to have somewhat doubled. She’s still on the fashion week front rows despite not being an editor for any title and she’s a coveted party guest all over the globe.
Is there anything particularly wrong with this? Is it such a bad thing for fashion editors to be famous beyond their byline?
I would argue that there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, in fact, it’s the way of the future. We live in an era where individual influence can exceed that of aged-old organisations or brands. The influence that bloggers have, for example, is testimony. If Dello Russo’s fame is enough to get us all interested in Japanses Vogue- where she is editor at large- I don’t see how Si Newhouse (chairman of the Condenast Group) would see this as being a disadvantage. It’s about time people got their fashion influence from people who know the ins-and-outs of style rather than relying on Hollywood celebrities for inspiration, anyway. The red carpets are hardly the best place for fashion inspiration in my opinion anyway.