As top fashion glossies get ready to drop their September issues, speculation is swirling about the future of the publishing mini-empire built by longtime collaborators Stephen Gan and Cecilia Dean after Page Six reported the duo’s splitting.
One casualty of their portfolio, which includes V magazine, VMan and Visionaire, could be former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld’s 2-year-old CR Fashion Book, insiders say.
Edgy Roitfeld launched the title in 2012 after leaving French Vogue, but former employer Condé Nast then put a fashion fatwa on her new venture, warning top photographers and stylists from working with a new competitor.
Roitfeld’s fancy friends, including photographer Bruce Weber, still worked with the well-connected editor anyway, shooting cover models including Kate Upton and Gigi Hadid. But insiders say that Condé’s “stranglehold” on top shooters has made it hard to compete, and the magazine has also had trouble attracting the paying advertisers it hoped for.
“Carine can’t understand why none of her friends are buying ads,” a source sniffed.
The insider added of CR’s future: “The plan is not to announce it is closing, but to do a ‘soft close.’ The whole staff knows what’s going on and are looking for other jobs.”
But Gan has insisted to us that CR has been “profitable since day one.”
It’s still unclear how Gan and Dean will split their assets: Sources said Dean’s focusing on arty title Visionaire, while Gan’s presiding over V and VMan. And other sources say CR Fashion Book will survive and that V will go all-digital to boost the bottom line.
In 2012, Roitfeld was also named global fashion director of Vogue rival Harper’s Bazaar, where Gan is creative director. For its September issue, the pair produced a portfolio with Penélope Cruz, Brooke Shields, Iman, Joan Smalls, Linda Evangelista and Lady Gaga. “It’s a huge amount of power they gave to me,” Roitfeld told WWD of the project.
Reps didn’t get back to us.