New Editor of French Vogue Plans to Promote Young Designers

 

“French Vogue is a successful magazine and it has a strong identity,” she told the telegraph this week. “It will probably stay on the same lines but some changes will happen. It will be the same but different.”

“I want to use more young designers,” she said. “We should surprise every time, otherwise it could be boring.”

Alt has made it clear throughout her Vogue career that she feels it is an important role of the magazine to seek out and support gifted new designers.

In her previous position as Fashion Director she proved her zeal and flair for hunting out fresh talent and including it where its not expected, keeping her work fresh and vibrant. She recently styled a couture shoot in London, featuring Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Chanel, Givenchy, and Alexandre Vauthier. At the last minute, she found a design by the relative unknown, Julien Fournie, and added it to the line-up. “The industry is always waiting, begging for a name,” she said, “But it is rare to find a big ‘trésor’, so you must keep looking.”

Last week she hosted the opening of a brand new platform for young design talent, launched by French Vogue with the support of Mercedes Benz. ‘Le Petit Salon des Jeunes Createurs’ exhibited the work of eight new designers at the Vogue Bar in the Hotel de Crillon, Paris, in the midst of Paris Fashion Week. Each young designer was invited by Vogue to show a selection of the most iconic pieces from their collections. Their work was exhibited in a series of displays designed by Vincent Darré – exotic tableaus which included a tiger’s head, strange masks, stuffed crocodiles, and skulls. Each of the eight were also given a page on French Vogue.com, featuring a video and visual diary about them made exclusively for Vogue.

And Alt is only just getting started: “I will try even more to support young designers. I like to keep my curiosity up,” she said.

In the UK, Vogue has more good news for new designers. The new BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, launched last year, has chosen its second winner: Christopher Kane.

“I am absolutely delighted to be this year’s winner of the BFC /Vogue Designer Fashion Fund,” said Kane. “It is such an honour to receive this accolade especially when I have such huge respect for all the nominees. The prize enables us to implement our strategic vision for the Christopher Kane business going forward.”

The award consists of a prize of £200,000 and access to a wealth of knowhow in the form of links with director level mentors across the industry. It is given to up-and-coming businesses with a view to boosting the long-term growth of new fashion companies in the UK. This exciting new grant helps to supplement the awards and funding that already exist for brand new designers, awards such as Fashion Forward (of which Kane is a previous winner) and the BFC/ELLE Talent Launch Pad, both also set up by the British Fashion Council.

“This is truly deserved and very exciting at this stage of his business,” said Vogue fashion features director Harriet Quick. “He has created 11 collections and since the get go – those fluoro bandage dresses; You could feel the excitement.”

It is comforting to know that Vogue, the most influential fashion magazine on the planet, has got the backs of emerging designers. They are the lifeblood of the industry, after all. And with Emmanuelle Alt in the driver’s seat in Paris, things are looking up, and up, and up…

“It is a great honour for me, and also a great pleasure, to arrive at the head of Vogue Paris which I know so well,” said Alt when her ascension was announced. “By working with such a talented team, I am confident of developing the incredible potential of the magazine.”

Let’s hope she does. Bonne chance, Emmanuelle!

 

By Natalie Gowans