Ah, the famous fashion frenemies.
French fashionistas Emmanuelle Alt and Carine Roitfeld had a renowned rivalry that reached a fever pitch when Alt replaced Roitfeld as editor in chief of French Vogue in February of this year. Alt had been serving as fashion director of the mag since 2000, when Roitfeld hired her.
The details surrounding Roitfeld's decision to leave are murky, and no one has ever accused the pair's relationship of being overly warm (in February it was reported that they were no longer speaking), but now it appears Roitfeld views their friendship as some sort of... contest?
In a profile from the New York Times that's out today, Roitfeld, who now lives in New York, directly addresses the conflict with Alt:
"Maybe this was not supposed to be a friendship," Ms. Roitfeld said. "If I look at the balance, maybe I lost some people I thought were my friends, but I made so many new friends. I am very happy, in the end, because I am the winner."
Sorry? That French accent can be tough. Did you say ... ?
"I am the winner," she repeated. "At the end of the day."
Yup, it's official... Carine Roitfeld: winning.
Since leaving the helm of French Vogue and setting up sartorial shop in New York City, Roitfeld has been drifting from venue to venue, still plotting her next career move now that she's no longer editing a chi-chi fashion magazine. She's done modeling for Barneys, styled Chanel's fall/winter show and is also set to become a grandmother.
Carine previously talked to the Times about shoe faux pas, bondage and Tom Ford's apparently ambiguous sexuality, so it's not like we're shocked that she'd dish on a personal relationship fallout to a reporter. But still: it's a pretty public diss, especially since the magazine has been doing well under Alt's tenure.
Your move, Emmanuelle.