Dismissed Vogue editor tells all in controversial interview

Vogue magazine’s former Fashion Director, Lucinda Chambers, has published a candid interview in Vestoj magazine, about life after Vogue, which has Conde Nast’s lawyers all over it. Vogue’s publishing arm asked Vestoj to amend the article. A request which has been granted states the publication.

In the article Chambers discusses her vulnerability after having been at Vogue for over 25 years. "I’m fifty-seven and I know that when the shows come around in September I will feel vulnerable. Will I still get a ticket? Where will I sit? I haven’t had to think about those things for twenty-five years. Most people who leave Vogue end up feeling that they’re lesser than, and the fact is that you’re never bigger than the company you work for.”

As with many fashion companies, incoming creatives often put their own teams together. When Nicolas Ghesquière left Balenciaga to go to Louis Vuitton, he took his stylist with him. And his muse. These changes are widely accepted, although someone who has been a stalwart in her role for nearly three decades, would have expected a dialogue to say the least.

In the interview Chambers also gives a glimpse of life behind the scenes, including her recent cover story of the June issue in which Alexa Chung is photographed wearing a Michael Kors t-shirt. "I’m not ashamed of what happened to me. If my shoots were really crappy… Oh I know they weren’t all good – some were crappy. The June cover with Alexa Chung in a stupid Michael Kors T-shirt is crap. He’s a big advertiser so I knew why I had to do it. I knew it was cheesy when I was doing it, and I did it anyway.”

In fashion you're not allowed to fail

“You’re not allowed to fail in fashion – especially in this age of social media, when everything is about lueading a successful, amazing life.

As a further blow to the publication, Chambers admits she hasn’t read the magazine in five years. “There are very few fashion magazines that make you feel empowered. Most leave you totally anxiety-ridden, for not having the right kind of dinner party, setting the table in the right kind of way or meeting the right kind of people. Truth be told, I haven’t read Vogue in years.”

“In fashion we are always trying to make people buy something they don’t need. We don’t need any more bags, shirts or shoes. So we cajole, bully or encourage people into continue buying. I know glossy magazines are meant to be aspirational, but why not be both useful and aspirational? That’s the kind of fashion magazine I’d like to see.”

Photo: Lucinda Chambers. Credit: Celine Gaille / Runway Manhattan/ picture allian / DPA

UPDATE: Condé Nast has refuted Lucinda Chambers's claims originally published in Vestoj. Vestoj itself has since removed a section of Chambers's account of her being fired. As the original quotation regarding Chambers's version of events has been removed, FashionUnited has also removed that portion from the story

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