Eugénie Trochu, from relentless trainee to number one of Vogue France

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09/04/2023
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“I was malleable. I arrived first and left last. From her beginnings at Vogue Paris, Eugénie Trochu has shown herself to be relentless. She ends up being spotted. One day, he was asked to write for the paper magazine. “I had been writing for the web for four years, this proposal was crazy! »

That evening, his editor drags on leaving. She remains crouched behind her desk. Objective: to make him read the article directly. “At the time, I was sitting at the end, over there [she points to the back of the open space from her new office, Ed]. The young rookie waits for 10 p.m. He finally leaves his office. She shows him her paper and Bingo! It's validated.

Eugénie Trochu knows how to score points. “I can be convincing and I think that's what people like. No doubt this force of persuasion was decisive when she applied for an internship in the temple of fashion. We are then in 2010, she has neither network nor experience in the press. She is following a master's degree in literature at the Sorbonne and, aggravating circumstance, "I came from the provinces". This offer to Vogue turns the head of the young Norman, who forgets her first dream: to become a journalist specializing in horse riding. “I was passionate about fashion. Already in high school, I always wore impossible looks, cowboy boots with pink fur,” she says, laughing.

At the interview, she catches the eye and lands this internship at the correspondence of Vogue U.S. in Paris. The recruiter likes her rock look, her torn tights, her very good English. “Above all, I had been a waitress, worked in a nightclub and I had this passion for horses. I had a 'resourceful' profile. A jack-of-all-trades cap that is very suitable for the job of an all-purpose assistant.

Eugénie Trochu must now organize diaries as well as bring back coffees or find accessories that cannot be found in the French capital, absolutely “essential” for the next shoot. She then more or less takes on one of these roles of assistant "Swiss Army knife" caricatured (or not) in the film "The devil wears Prada" which shouts out loud to meet the demands of the powerful Anna Wintour, high priestess of fashion, at the helm of American Vogue since 1988.

Ten years later, Eugénie Trochu has climbed all the ladders. Anna Wintour is now her N+2. It was she who propelled the 32-year-old young woman director of editorial content for Vogue for France. Eugénie Trochu had previously met her at fashion week shows but remained in the shadow of her then editor-in-chief. But everything accelerated a month and a half ago, when the young employee received an email from the manager's assistant: “Anna wants to talk to you in half an hour”. “I dropped my pen,” remembers Eugénie Trochu.

The autonomy of the magazine and its chief in question

Thanks to a reorganization, Anna Wintour wants to replace the chef in Paris and is trying to get to know the potential replacements better. During the interview, Eugénie Trochu plays on her spontaneity, which she knows to be her trump card in an environment that is said to be cramped. “I made him laugh, I told him where I came from and my passion for horses. We hardly talked about fashion. »

Eugénie Trochu, de stagiaire acharnée à la numéro « une » de Vogue France

Then comes the time of his vision for the future of Vogue Paris. Eugénie Trochu insists on one point: show more accessible fashion and open the magazine to the provinces, where 70% of the readers (and especially female readers) come from. His first idea: to remove “Paris” which has been housed in the “O” of Vogue since September 1951.

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Anna Wintour buys the idea. Since the promotion, the two women have been sending each other regular messages on WhatsApp. "Anna is almost a friend," smiles the young manager. She is always available if I have a problem. It's true that she's an icon and like all icons, she's scary, but when you get to know them, you realize that they're people like everyone else. »

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— William Linton Thu Jul 08 07:03:40 +0000 2010

The boss of Vogue makes the choice to promote a nugget formed internally. Some will say that after a social plan targeting fifty positions, wanted by Condé Nast, owner of the Vogue brand, this appointment is a way to save yourself a big salary, often coupled with external recruitment.

Others will say that dubbing a young talent will facilitate the supervision of the Parisian magazine by Vogue U.S. Eugénie Trochu has also lost the title of editor-in-chief. Internally, it is retorted that this does not change anything that like all European Vogue, the French magazine now reports to the sole editor, Edward Enninful at the head of British Vogue.

Eugénie Trochu prefers to point out that in addition to paper, she is in charge of digital content, proof of a change of era. "I was chosen because I was 'digital first', and I had set up, with others, the new website and the Instagram account which has 8.2 million followers. »

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Vogue Paris becomes Vogue France

And then, Eugénie Trochu returns to her origins, like a refrain. “In the fashion world, not coming from Paris has long been considered a weakness. It is a strength today. And to add: “The provincials have this openness, this simplicity, we are more accessible”, she believes. She now wants Vogue to speak more in Marseille, Lille or Nantes. This is why if the magazine has lost "Paris" in its title, it has gained the word "France" for a few days.

In a magazine that has not always had the reputation of being the most inclusive, Eugénie Trochu hears about all women, thin and round, white and colored. She remains marked by the confidence, of a few years ago, made by a friend of Asian origin: "I do not recognize myself in your magazine". The first issue of the Trochu era, to be released on November 4, will feature Aya Nakamura on the cover. Message received.

“I want to change the image of French women so that everyone recognizes themselves. Aya Nakamura is a personality that speaks to everyone. Here, we have transformed her: she is chic while remaining herself, an accessible figure who embodies the French woman. »

The challenge of accessible chic

This desire for openness will speak to the new generation, but one can wonder about wanting to make fashion accessible when the pages boast about bags and clothes that sell for four or five figures.

But Eugénie Trochu assumes: “my content will be elegant, chic and accessible, everyone will be able to find their way around with pages devoted to trends at low prices. At the risk of losing the dream of luxury fashion? “It would be horrible to say that the dream is only in elitism. »

She leaves for Vogue… without finishing her studies

After her internship at Vogue U.S., Eugénie Trochu was hired by Vogue Paris. The student was however about to validate her master 2 (after having obtained a master 1 at Celsa) but made the choice not to go all the way. Her professors at the time reprimanded her not to give in to the sirens of the job market. In vain. A few days ago, one of his professors learned of his appointment and wrote him a message: “Fortunately you didn't listen to me”.