Under Carine Roitfeld (2001-2011)
Roitfeld aimed to restore the magazine's place as a leader in fashion journalism (the magazine "hadn't been so good" since the 1980s, she said) and to [restore] its French identity. Her appointment, which coincided with the ascendance of young designers at several of the most important Paris fashion houses, "brought a youthful energy" to the magazine. By April 2002, she had rid the magazine of foreign staffers, making it "all French for the first time in many years". The magazine also underwent a redesign by the Paris-based design firm M/M. It aimed to make the title appear more hand-crafted and organic, particularly through the use of collage and hand-drawn fonts. Continuity was created through the use of loose theming for each issue, smooth pacing, and visual uniformity in the shopping pages.
The magazine’s aesthetic evolved to resemble Roitfeld's (that is, "svelte, tough, luxurious, and wholeheartedly in love with dangling-cigarette, bare-chested fashion"). Roitfeld has periodically drawn criticism for the magazine's use of sexuality and humor, which she employs to disrupt fashion's conservatism and pretension. Roitfeld's Vogue is unabashedly elitist, "unconcerned with making fashion wearable or accessible to its readers". Models, not actresses promoting movies, appear on its cover. Its party pages focus on the magazine's own staff, particularly Roitfeld and her daughter Julia. Its regular guest-editorships are given to it-girls like Kate Moss, Sofia Coppola, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. According to The Guardian, "what distinguishes French Vogue is its natural assumption that the reader must have heard of these beautiful people already. And if we haven't? The implication is that that's our misfortune, and the editors aren't about to busy themselves helping us out." Advertising revenue rose 60 percent in 2005, resulting in the best year for ad sales since the mid-1980s. On December 17, 2010, Carine announced her departure from Vogue Paris effective January 31, 2011.
