Sorry, You’re Not On the List: Fashion’s Fickle Invites

by Filipa Oliveira

Fashion and Media have a long history of “scratch mine/scratch yours” type of relationship. And as long as claws are kept retracted and well behaved, things are likely to go easy and smooth for both parts. It’s when the Wolverine effect is at it fullest, that injuries start to bite. Case in point – the latest editorial team on fashion ban list. Carine Roitfeld and the French Vogue squad were recently blacklisted by Balenciaga: no more tickets for the runway shows, no free samples, no advertising of any kind on the magazine’s pages – the full “persona non grata“ treatment.

“We’re blacklisted”, Roitfeld has said. “It’s too bad, it’s a beautiful house and it’s French. I hope that it’s not forever.”

So, who’s to blame for the sudden cold war crisis? Savvy French Vogue readers have noticed that the magazine does not feature Balenciaga ads since 2009. A growing tension that has finally burst? Possibly…but there’s something more to this story. Another theory points to Marie-Amelie Sauvé, creative consultant to designer Nicholas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga and, until recently, fashion editor for Vogue Paris. Could this be a side effect of a break up that ended badly? Maybe. But then again all we can do is guess, as both parts refused to release further comments.

While highly unexpected, Corine Roitfield ‘s blacklist status is not an isolated case. Two years ago, Cathy Horyn, a U.S. fashion critic known for having a sharp tongue and harsh attitude towards designers, was banned from Giorgio Armani fashion shows for her “unnecessarily sarcastic comments” and absence of positive remarks. Translating, if the lady is not into writing positive reviews, what’s the point of having her around? Cathy’s acerbic wit has also lead to bans from Dolce & Gabbana, Helmut Lang and Carolina Herrera.

mcqueen

On a more recent note, photographers are being banned from Alexander McQueen’s first post-mortem show. Originally, the event was scheduled to be held during Paris Fashion Week, but due to its “sensitive nature” was replaced for a more private presentation on March 9th and 10th – invite only and no photos allowed.

You know what they say… keep your friends close, your enemies closer and the fashion media under tight surveillance.