Vanity Fair France has compiled its latest list of the “Most Influential French People in the World,” and it is, I have to say, kind of surprising — at least when it comes to the top 40 names, and fashion.
I mean, I understand Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, at No. 1, and Thomas “Capital in the 21st Century” Piketty at No. 4 (well ahead of President François Hollande, who clocks in at No. 22, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the I.M.F., at No. 24).
But consider the following style figures:
No. 32 — Olivier Rousteing, Balmain’s creative director;
No. 13 — Hedi Slimane, Saint Laurent’s creative and image director;
No.11 — Nicolas Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton’s artistic director;
No. 6 — Valérie Hermann, president of Ralph Lauren’s luxury division;
And… that’s it!
I’m not arguing that these people are not influential — certainly, both Mr. Slimane and Mr. Ghesquière have had outsize trickle-down effects (cascade-down effects?) on their ready-to-wear peers, moving the industry at large toward grappling with what women actually want to wear. Along with Mr. Rousteing, they represent the new generation of French designers at French houses (as opposed to, say, Belgian designers at French houses, or British designers at French houses). And Ms. Hermann’s opportunity to help shape what is one of the world’s largest luxury names gives her significant power.
That said, I can’t help but wonder why François-Henri Pinault, chief executive of Kering (which owns Saint Laurent), and Bernard Arnault, chief executive of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (which owns Louis Vuitton) are not there?
After all, they chose Mr. Slimane and Mr. Ghesquière, respectively, for their current roles, and thus arguably started all the influencing. Not to mention the fact they control a big chunk of the global luxury market, and hence shape most of our understanding of what aspiration is.
Similarly, where is Axel Dumas, chief executive of Hermès, and Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, the owners of Chanel — both brands that pretty much represent “Frenchness” to the world?
The editors note that they selected the names by number of foreign press mentions, sales figures and emotional impact, and so perhaps the first and third criteria mitigate against the executives; they are more the powers behind the scenes. And there’s no question that all such lists, from the Best-Dressed to the New Establishment, are ultimately subjective. Still, they seem to me to be strange omissions.
What do you think?