News
Nude Underage Teens In French Vogue
Published: Nov 04, 2003 - 04:54 PM
The November issue of French Vogue arrived late on newsstands in Paris Thursday, having supposed to have been there since Monday. But subscribers received their copies in the mail on time -- with a little something extra. As it regularly does, French Vogue publisher Cond? Nast collaborated with a major advertiser to sponsor a beauty supplement; this time, the honor fell to French beauty giant L'Oreal, which splashed out on 52
Aside from the multiplicity of L'Oreals ads -- featuring Claudia Schiffer, Laetitia Casta and Natalie Imbruglia (news), among others -- the supplement's pages came illustrated with images by 70s-era photographer David Hamilton of naked Lolitas, most of whom seem incredibly new to the whole puberty thing.
According to sources, L'Oreal bosses saw the final supplement only after the issue had been printed and delivered. Reportedly, Cond? Nast France president Didier Suberbielle was summoned to L'Oreal headquarters in Paris late last week, where the feedback on the issue was far from enthusiastic, with L'Oreal chiefs demanding all copies of the supplement recalled and destroyed, with the cost burden shouldered by the publisher.
L'Oreal's international PR director, Jean-Dominique Tortil, denied this, saying, "Oh no! We were just sending the supplement to subscribers only. It was a test to see if maybe it would be successful to do it [sponsor a supplement] again next year." He said the company would be looking at producing a larger supplement next year, "maybe in April or May."
Suberbielle did not respond to FWD's attempts to contact him to discuss the matter at his rue du Faubourg St-Honore office and Carine Roitfeld, editor-in-chief of French Vogue, is currently out of the country.
Following a round of phone calls to press kiosks in the French capital, FWD has learned that the original copies of the magazine were all delivered in advance before being suddenly recalled at the weekend and returned a number of days later, rebagged sans the offending supplement. The only supplement contained in the plastic cover now is a 16-page Nike advertorial shot and written by the Vogue team, though on some newsstands, even that is missing.
On the matter of the supplement being pulled from newsstands, Tortil wagered, "Oh! Maybe there had been a slight misunderstanding by Cond? Nast. It was only supposed to be for subscribers. As far as I know it was definitely a test issue." He stressed, more than once, "We have the best relationship with Cond? Nast."
So L'Oreal had no problem with the imagery, some of which shows nude girls who cannot possibly be over 13 years of age? "Well, of course there were mixed opinions; some thought it was OK, some didn't. We'll know more after the survey."
The survey?
According to the spokesman L'Oreal will be conducting a survey, most likely by phone, of French Vogue subscribers to see what they thought of the supplement in order to assess the viability of launching a bigger issue next time.
Although the subject of the next sponsored supplement is not known, by Tortil's admission, it will probably feature "more mainstream" photography and models. For the moment, however, those lucky enough to get their hands on a copy of this one are in possession of an unexpected collectors item.
Curiously, despite the fact that the November issue is reportedly his first since being named as new creative director, Fabien Baron's name is conspicuously absent from the main magazine's masthead. Baron, who was seen at Roitfeld's side on the front row of many a show during Paris Fashion Week earlier this month, replaced consultant team M/M.
According to sources, L'Oreal bosses saw the final supplement only after the issue had been printed and delivered. Reportedly, Cond? Nast France president Didier Suberbielle was summoned to L'Oreal headquarters in Paris late last week, where the feedback on the issue was far from enthusiastic, with L'Oreal chiefs demanding all copies of the supplement recalled and destroyed, with the cost burden shouldered by the publisher.
L'Oreal's international PR director, Jean-Dominique Tortil, denied this, saying, "Oh no! We were just sending the supplement to subscribers only. It was a test to see if maybe it would be successful to do it [sponsor a supplement] again next year." He said the company would be looking at producing a larger supplement next year, "maybe in April or May."
Suberbielle did not respond to FWD's attempts to contact him to discuss the matter at his rue du Faubourg St-Honore office and Carine Roitfeld, editor-in-chief of French Vogue, is currently out of the country.
Following a round of phone calls to press kiosks in the French capital, FWD has learned that the original copies of the magazine were all delivered in advance before being suddenly recalled at the weekend and returned a number of days later, rebagged sans the offending supplement. The only supplement contained in the plastic cover now is a 16-page Nike advertorial shot and written by the Vogue team, though on some newsstands, even that is missing.
On the matter of the supplement being pulled from newsstands, Tortil wagered, "Oh! Maybe there had been a slight misunderstanding by Cond? Nast. It was only supposed to be for subscribers. As far as I know it was definitely a test issue." He stressed, more than once, "We have the best relationship with Cond? Nast."
So L'Oreal had no problem with the imagery, some of which shows nude girls who cannot possibly be over 13 years of age? "Well, of course there were mixed opinions; some thought it was OK, some didn't. We'll know more after the survey."
The survey?
According to the spokesman L'Oreal will be conducting a survey, most likely by phone, of French Vogue subscribers to see what they thought of the supplement in order to assess the viability of launching a bigger issue next time.
Although the subject of the next sponsored supplement is not known, by Tortil's admission, it will probably feature "more mainstream" photography and models. For the moment, however, those lucky enough to get their hands on a copy of this one are in possession of an unexpected collectors item.
Curiously, despite the fact that the November issue is reportedly his first since being named as new creative director, Fabien Baron's name is conspicuously absent from the main magazine's masthead. Baron, who was seen at Roitfeld's side on the front row of many a show during Paris Fashion Week earlier this month, replaced consultant team M/M.
