Carine Roitfeld to leave French Vogue

Carine Roitfeld has tendered her resignation as editor 

of French Vogue and is to focus on her own projects from January 2011.The former model started her writing career at Elle, working her way up the ranks before she became a consultant to Tom Ford during his tenure at Gucci starting in 1990 through to his stint at Yves Saint Laurent, which began in 2000.

After only a year at YSL, Carine was snapped up to edit Vogue, further cementing her influence in the international fashion industry. The editor has made a name for herself by continuously pushing the boundaries of style, such as styling Lara Stone in black face for a 2009 shoot for the magazine and later depicting controversial "plus-size" model Crystal Renn gorging herself on food in a spread earlier this year.

"It is impossible to overstate Carine’s powerful contribution to Vogue and to the fields of fashion and magazine publishing. Under her direction, Vogue Paris received record levels of circulation and advertising and editorial success," Jonathan Newhouse, chief executive of Condé Nast International told Vogue U.K.’s website.

"Carine herself has become widely known as a beacon of style, fulfilling the role with charm and graciousness. She has become a giant in her profession [and] will be deeply missed. I am extremely grateful to her for what she has achieved.”

Roitfeld said she has decided to concentrate on personal projects. The 56-year-old former model, who did much of her own styling for the magazine — including for the last issue — told the Times her decision had nothing to do with personalities. “I have no problem with Jonathan, and he understood me very well,” she said of Newhouse.

"It’s 10 years that I’m editor of the magazine .... I think it’s time to do something different."

She added: "I had so much freedom to do everything I wanted. I think I did a good job.