PARIS — “I dreaded going back to fashion shows.”
Are these the words of a world weary waif? Or a pack photographer who’s been slammed in the ribs one time too many?
No, they’re from Joan Juliet Buck, the new editor of French Vogue, who, until July, hadn’t done the fashion show circuit in nearly two decades.
Most recently a film critic for American Vogue, Buck has struck some as an unusual choice to reverse the dramatic slide at one of Europe’s most elite magazines, given her long absence from the fashion industry. Her track record includes stints at several of Conde Nast’s American magazines, Italian correspondent for WWD and features editor of British Vogue. She’s also published a novel and written several screenplays.
Despite her disdain for fashion shows, she’s managed to find some redeeming value in the runway: “When I was on the committee of the New York Film Festival, I saw 700 films in one year. Out of these we chose 24, which leaves about 675 bad movies. Well, at least a fashion show has some purpose, the music is generally better and you can actually do something with what you see on the runway.”
In her new job, Buck has her work cut out for her. And though her first issue was very well received, many are taking a wait-and-see attitude.
“It’s too early to judge, her art director has just arrived,” says Karl Lagerfeld. “I want to give Joan four issues. That’s why I do four collections, because I don’t like to be judged on one. I do hope she does well. And if she rises to the heights of her ambition, then the magazine will be very good.”
Buck’s appointment — she replaced Colombe Pringle in May — isn’t the only thing to change at Condé Nast SA. This month it appointed a new president, Gardner Bellanger, who used to represent American Vogue in Paris, replacing Gérard Asaria, who was edged out this summer.
In the latest management shuffle, Patrick Delcroix and Olivier Mayeras, directors of production and marketing, respectively, were laid off Thursday morning. Bellanger termed their dismissals “part of the global restructuring of the company” and said no replacements have been named.
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Meanwhile, Jonathan Newhouse, the family scion who heads European operations, is moving from Paris to London, raising speculation that he’ll wield the ax in the U.K.
But Newhouse says his move to London will have no effect on business strategy and denied that any changes are in the offing. The British operation, unlike Conde Nast France, is believed to be profitable.
Of Buck, Newhouse says, “I’m absolutely convinced that she will greatly improve Vogue editorially as well as strengthening it commercially, which is indeed what’s already happening.”
The managerial shakeup at Vogue comes during a difficult decade for Condé Nast SA, which publishes five titles in France: Vogue; Vogue Hommes; Glamour; Maison et Jardin and Automobile Classiques.
According to figures made available to WWD, in 1991 Condé Nast France lurched into the red, posting a loss of $1.3 million (6.7 million francs) on sales of $59.9 million (311.7 million francs). In 1992, losses deepened to $3.3 million (17.2 million francs) on flat sales of $60 million (312.2 million francs). Figures for 1993 were not available.
According to Secodip, a marketing research firm, Vogue’s ad pages plummeted 29 percent to 880 in 1993, from 1,238 in 1992; Vogue Homme dropped 28 percent to 542 pages from 756 pages; Glamour eased 8 percent to 621 pages from 672; Maison et Jardin was flat at 644 and Automobiles Classiques slumped 20 percent to 179 pages from 225.
The decline continued into 1994, according to analyst Marc Loneaux, of the brokerage firm Bacot Allain, who says French Vogue sold 421 ad pages in the first seven months of the year, down 1.4 percent from a year ago. In the same period, competitor Marie Claire’s ad pages rose 20 percent, while Elle’s was flat.
Buck also will have to revive Vogue’s newsstand sales. Last year, the magazine sold an average of 76,448 copies a month, but 40 percent of those were sold outside France. Comparison figures were not available, but Bellanger points out, “Increasing circulation is critical to our success.”
“It’s a right moment in time for the group to take a good look at itself and make sure it appeals to the woman who is its reader,” admits Bellanger, who wore the publisher’s hat at French Vogue for only one issue before being named to her current post. The magazine’s new publisher is Helene Bourgeois-Luquin, former publicity director for the magazine.
Some outside observers are confused by all the changes.
“It’s hard to make sense of the waltz of the executives. It doesn’t seem to make much sense. But Condé Nast has lost a lot of money here in the past three years, so something had to give,” said Sabine Paireault, media editor of Strategies, France’s equivalent of Advertising Age.
As for Buck’s editorial approach, she appears to be loosening things up. When asked what Pringle’s Vogue lacked, Buck replies: “a sense of fun.”
September’s Vogue, her debut issue, features a cover shot of model Phoebe O’Brien in a black silk crepe John Galliano pant suit with cuffs dragging on the ground. Buck, a fortyish American who was born in Los Angeles, dedicated the issue to La Femme Francaise. The issue weighed in at 308 pages, a significant increase over last year.
Buck’s Vogue steers clear of the overly earnest, sometimes pretentious reputation that French Vogue had gained: Pringle’s last Christmas issue featured Nelson Mandela as a guest writer. In contrast, the new etiquette columnist, Francis Dorléans, chose politeness and prophylactics as his first subject.
Buck’s choice of Brigitte Langevin, who carved a hip, cutting-edge reputation here as fashion director of French Glamour, was well received by the Paris fashion crowd.
And she’s exploring new territory with a TV page. “We never had one. We were too graaaaaand for that sort of thing,” Buck says, sticking her nose in the air. “The whole point of the exercise is to make this magazine more accessible.”
September’s four fashion spreads were shot by Mario Testino, Jurgen Teller, Marc Hispard, who worked closely with Langevin at Glamour, and Steven Klein. Buck raves about the Marc Hispard shoot, though her choice of a red Burberry raincoat from Britain to open the fashion section of French Vogue raised a few eyebrows.
Buck also admits she was less than happy with the final shot of a model smoking a cigaret.
“From now on, I’m eliminating cigarets. They don’t look right in the magazine, and I don’t think I want to encourage anyone to smoke. Why encourage them to get lung cancer? I’m sure I’ll stop soon,” says Buck as she puts out yet another Rothman’s.
Buck points out that she did the September issue without her new art director, David Schneider, who had been art director of German Vogue for the past two years and just recently arrived at his new job.
Buck says she’s never worked as hard in her life. She rarely makes it back to her suite in the Hotel Lutetia before nightfall and claims to have adopted a policy of deliberately dodging all her old Parisian friends and acquaintances to avoid prescriptive monologues on what to do with her magazine.
And she’s certainly not enamored of tradition, as is evident when she gives a quick tour of Condé Nast’s new Montparnasse headquarters. “We used to be in wonderful offices in the Place Bourbon, which were absolutely beautiful, so when people arrived they had a tendency to do nothing. These are rather normal and modern, so there’s nothing much else to do but work.”