WWD caught up with Carine Roitfeld to drill her on her decision to leave French Vogue, amid rumors that the editor-in-chief was fired, according to Racked. Carine told the fashion newspaper:
I have always been a freelancer, so when I was hired 10 years ago, I found it very difficult to have an office, an assistant, a schedule, fixed vacations. But at the same time, it was such a huge job that I said yes. It's been an incredible adventure, but maybe in my heart and soul, I am more of a freelancer. I'm surprised I even stuck it out this long, but what made me stay is having a boss like Jonathan [Newhouse], who is an incredible man who gave me total freedom, and God knows I pushed the boundaries.
When asked about some of her most memorable moments, Roitfeld remarked:
Putting a transsexual bearded black man [Andre J.] on the cover in a shoot by Bruce Weber. Jonathan was very courageous to let that one through. Sophie Marceau smoking a cigarette on the cover. That did very, very well, so I mean, people expect it of us and that's what they love about us. I'm not saying I don't get letters from people who are unhappy, but you can't please everyone, and we take risks.
Painting Lara Stone in black, for example. We were accused of being racist, which was totally untrue, since I once did an entire issue on a black model [Liya Kebede in May 2002]. We've done a lot of nudity. We've done everything in Vogue. [....] I think we kept that rock 'n' roll attitude. That was very important to me.
Roitfeld will oversee the glossy's February and March issues, but she says she has no specific plans after that. She also said she hasn't been doing any consulting work on the side -- rumors that Carine called "hurtful" and one of the points that has caused some to speculate Roitfeld was, in fact, asked to leave French Vogue. Racked also hears that the frontrunner to take Carine's job is Le Figaro's Fashion Director Virginie Mouzat.
Check out some of our favorite covers from Carine's reign at French Vogue: