Emmanuelle Alt: Girl Meets Boy

I Want To Be An Alt wishes you a Happy Valentine's Day from all of us! The new editorial team pooled our thoughts on "Girl Meets Boy" from the June 2010 issue of Vogue Paris; read more below. Emmanuelle Alt styled the editorial featuring model Raquel Zimmermann and David Sims shot the photographs. What is your take on "Girl Meets Boy"?

KATE: The girl meets the boy but then where did she go? There is very little softness here. Some of the pictures do manage to project a strong and sexy brand of femininity. But for the most part I'm not feeling the whole "A Flock of Seagulls" meets "Duckie" meets "Andrew Dice Clay" vibe... And yes, I happened to love that movie, Pretty in Pink.

KELLINA: Hmmm, perhaps we need to know more about Emmanuelle's vision for the piece... "Lorsque les jolies filles jouent aux auvais garçons... Un rock around the jean aux airs androgynes à incarner avec humour et multi-attribut street masculins." or in English, "When pretty girls play with bad boys... A rock around the jeans with an androgynous air that embodies the masculine street vibe with humor." I think the goodness here is in the details that Emmanuelle chose to set the scene — the hats, the suspenders, the ties with clips, the loafers with jeans rolled just so, against the oodles of jewelry, the polished makeup, and the manicured nails. Love especially those Eddie Borgo bracelets. Also love that Emmanuelle managed to work within the subdued duotone palette throughout the editorial.

MILLA: "Boy Seeks Girl” would be a far better title as Emmanuelle's love of jeans and androgynous vibe takes over. There is nothing feminine, pretty, or even sexy here. Perfect for the “too-cool-for-school” lot, but no, this does nothing for me. Raquel Zimmermann's Brazilian curves have been overshadowed by a 70s rock chick from the projects!

For more fashionable Valentine's Day sweetness, check out "Tango des Passions" as styled by Carine Roitfeld on I Want To Be A Roitfeld  or "Valentine's Day Treatise" on Everyday Glamour.

Vogue Paris editorial images © 2010 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

Emmanuelle Alt In The Daily Front Row

The Daily Front Row dated February 12-13 promises "Undressing Emmanuelle...  All you wanted to know about the French Vogue editrix but were afraid to ask" although the entire article seems to be the culmination of research rather than an actual interview. They touch on fun tidbits such as quotes and editorials contrasting Emmanuelle Alt's style with that of Carine Roitfeld, her education at Lubeck School, her career highlights, her chic spots in Paris, and her favorite accessories — her BlackBerry and her earphones. I love this quote by Martine de Menthon, former fashion director for Vogue Paris, "My first memory of Emmanuelle Alt in the mid-90s is the one of a mischievous visitor coming regularly in the Vogue Paris office... observing, joking, becoming a member of the group. Un belle carrière bien menée."

Download "Undressing Emmanuelle..."

Emmanuelle Alt images © 2011 Daily Front Row. All Rights Reserved.

New Editors At I Want To Be An Alt

I am thrilled beyond belief to announce the addition of two editorial powerhouses here at I Want To Be An Alt — Kate Ringo Suzuki, our new editor-at-large in New York, and Milla Msa, our new editor-at-large in Paris. I hope that you are already familiar with these talented women from their guest posts on I Want To Be A Roitfeld as well as their own blogs, Milla's fantastic Not Just Another Milla and Kate's fabulous Everyday Glamour. Both will now be providing content for the site more regularly so look forward to reading more wonderful words from them. In case you do need an introduction, here are brief ones adapted from each of their blogs.

Kate Ringo SuzukiKate Ringo Suzuki is a personal stylist in New York City who enjoys helping women who love fashion make the most of their wardrobes (She has been known to help their husbands, too). Kate concentrates on an evolution of style for each client showing fashion lovers how to put together new combinations from pieces they already own; develop a collection of amazing outfits that work for different times, places, and occasions (T.P.O. for short); and feel truly confident about how they present themselves at all times.

Milla Msa

Milla Msa, a Parisian by marriage and a Londoner at heart, currently lives in the beautiful 5th arrondissement. When not in the kitchen pretending to be the eternally fabulous Nigella Lawson, Milla spends her time exploring the City of Light, wishing she could call Galeries Lafayette “home”, hunting for the perfect macaron, practising her Japanese on unsuspecting tourists whilst wondering why the French don’t smile, and wishing she had shares in Bottega Veneta. A woman can only dream...

I hope you will join me in officially welcoming Milla and Kate to the site... Looking forward to much more fashion and fun with all of you!

Bisous
Kellina

Kate Ringo Suzuki photograph © 2010 Kate Ringo Suzuki. Milla Msa photograph © 2010 Milla Msa. All Rights Reserved.

Alt And Roitfeld Estranged

The New York Times recently published a story, "New Star in the Front Row," a tragic tale of the break up of the new editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, Emmanuelle Alt, and her predecessor, Carine Roitfeld. I guess whatever went down at Condé Nast was too great a burden for the relationship to bear though Emmanuelle still spoke well of her former boss in the interview. Also mentioned in the story — I Want To Be A Roitfeld as well as this site though not by name. Kind thanks to Cathy Horyn for making the first media mention of I Want To Be An Alt truly special.

Pierre-Alban HF from The Crowd graciously shared with us these photos of Emmanuelle and Carine together at Paris Fashion Week last autumn. Follow Pierre at The Crowd during the upcoming season in Paris for more fabulous Fashion Week photos. Merci beaucoup, Pierre !

Emmanuelle Alt and Carine Roitfeld photographs © 2011 Pierre-Alban HF. All Rights Reserved.

Emmanuelle Alt In Vogue US

In a delightful interview with Vogue US, Emmanuelle Alt shares her views on everything from Coca Light avec glace to transforming Vogue Paris... très intéressant...

On How She Sees Vogue Paris — For Now

“I want to keep the quality, the photographers we work with — David [Sims], Mert and Marcus, Mario [Testino], and Bruce Weber. I don’t think there should be radical changes. The magazine should still be chic and sophisticated. It’s a bit like buying an apartment: Before you move in, you have all these plans of what you are going to do, but then you get there, and you realize it is better to spend time living in it, and transforming it over time. I’d like there to be more beauty trends; there was so much of that in Vogue back in the eighties. And how people are living; there are so many interesting, cool people here, and they should be in the magazine. More French girls, more French lifestyle. And I am going to keep shooting for the magazine — hopefully a story every issue. I do project myself in my pictures, even if I would never wear what I shoot. Actually, most of the time I definitely wouldn’t. I always want a relationship with reality: nothing too sexy, or provocative, or fashion victim. Even if I love to dream, I want the magazine to feature a girl who looks like she belongs in real life. We are French — we can show smoking, nudity. We have no boundaries, and it can be good to have them."

Among other endearing revelations, the new editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris admits that her favorite models are Daria Werbowy and Kate Moss and that in her free time she frequents the tennis court with her six-year-old daughter, “I spend all my weekends with the kids [Antonin, 13, and Françoise, 6]. It’s that culpability of having been working at the magazine all week. Françoise is a good tennis player, so we do that. It goes so fast. A weekend is like ten minutes for me."

Read the full interview

Emmanuelle Alt photograph by Garance Doré. © 2011 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.