Carine Roitfeld
Founder and editor in chief of CR Fashion Book
Carine Roitfeld is a French fashion editor and stylist who led Vogue Paris as editor in chief from 2001 to 2011 and founded the magazine CR Fashion Book in 2012. Her provocative, sensual styling helped define the image of luxury fashion in the late 1990s and 2000s.
| Role | Founder and editor in chief, CR Fashion Book |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Vogue Paris | Editor in chief, 2001 to 2011 |
| Born | 1954, Paris |
| Book | Irreverent (2011) |
Who is Carine Roitfeld?
Carine Roitfeld is a fashion editor, stylist and creative consultant born in Paris in 1954. She is one of the most recognisable editors of her generation, known for a distinctive Parisian aesthetic and for styling that shaped campaigns and magazine imagery for some of the biggest brands in luxury.
Career
Roitfeld started as a model at 18 after being scouted in Paris and then spent around 15 years as a freelance writer and stylist for French Elle. From around 1990 she worked closely with the photographer Mario Testino, and for about six years she was a consultant and muse to Tom Ford during his time at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. She also contributed to campaigns for Missoni, Versace and Calvin Klein.
In 2001 Condé Nast appointed her editor in chief of Vogue Paris. She led the magazine for a decade, announced her departure in December 2010 and was succeeded by Emmanuelle Alt in February 2011. In 2012 she founded CR Fashion Book, a biannual print magazine based in New York, whose debut issue sold out, and in the same year Harper's Bazaar named her its global fashion director.
Influence on the fashion business
Roitfeld's influence goes well beyond editing. Her later career shows how an editor's personal brand can become a business platform in its own right:
- A collection with Uniqlo, announced in 2015
- A role as style adviser to the Karl Lagerfeld brand from 2019, following a collaboration collection that year
- Her own perfume business, announced in 2019
- A major fashion exhibition project in Asia with Adrian Cheng, announced in 2021
She also published the book Irreverent in 2011, documenting her career in images. Her work with Tom Ford at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent is closely associated with the glamorous, sensual image of those houses in that period.
Why it matters
Roitfeld illustrates the shift from editor as gatekeeper to editor as independent brand. After leaving Vogue Paris she built a media business around her own name and taste, combining a magazine, brand collaborations and consulting. That model, in which creative authority is monetised across products and platforms, has since been followed by many editors and stylists as traditional magazine structures have weakened.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Carine Roitfeld?
Carine Roitfeld is a French fashion editor and stylist. She was editor in chief of Vogue Paris from 2001 to 2011 and founded CR Fashion Book in 2012.
What is Carine Roitfeld known for?
She is known for her provocative, sensual styling, her collaboration with Tom Ford at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent and her decade leading Vogue Paris. She has also worked on collaborations with brands such as Uniqlo and Karl Lagerfeld.