I was amused to see that former Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld has been appointed «guest editor» of the New York department store Barney's. That's right – she's going to be the editor of a shop. Now, you and I both know that this is just a bit of PR nonsense. I mean, you can no more be editor of a shop than you can be manager of a vase. Words and film can be edited, but not clothes. I imagine Roitfeld is going to be a buyer, or something more like a curator.
But maybe I'm wrong. My social media heroine Colleen DeCourcey, founder of Socialistic (in which Havas has a stake) is convinced that since brands are now creators of content, particularly online, «brand editor» is going to become the next big job title. I suppose we journalists should be grateful, bearing in mind that free content on the Web has effectively destroyed our careers. We can all work for retailers instead.
Still, it's interesting that the fashion world finds the language of journalism glamorous, since we're traditionally poor and badly dressed. This could start a trend. Maybe models will soon begin calling themselves «apparel reporters». Colleen DeCourcy proposes another solution. She suggests I change my title to «thought stylist». Now that sounds like something people would pay a lot for. I'm changing my business cards. See you at La Perle – I hear there's a spare seat.
