Business

Former French Vogue editor lands at Harper’s Bazaar

Carine Roitfeld, the former editor of French Vogue who left abruptly at the end of 2010, has teamed with Harper’s Bazaar as global fashion director in a move that ramps up the fashion rivalry between Condé Nast and Hearst.

By tapping into Roitfeld’s appeal as an international style icon, Hearst aims to supercharge Harper’s Bazaar in the US, which was cut to only 10 issues after languishing for several years.

Harper’s Bazaar was actually up 10 percent in ad pages to 1,449.6 through October, but new sibling Elle was far ahead with 1,991 ad pages for a 5 percent gain, according to Media Industry Newsletter.

During her 10-year run at the helm of French Vogue, Roitfeld was often tipped as a potential replacement for Anna Wintour at the Condé Nast flagship Vogue in the US.

That never happened. Wintour remains the reigning fashion editrix at Vogue, where ad pages were up 4.2 percent through October to 2,209.5.

Roitfeld, meanwhile, launched the biannual CR Fashion Book this year at the spring fashion shows with backing from Stephen Gan, who publishes V and Visionaire magazines through his Fashion Media Group LLC — and who just happens to be doubling as the creative director of Harper’s Bazaar US.

Even before Roitfeld joined Hearst, there was evidence of a bitter rivalry when Condé Nast reportedly warned its stable of fashion photographers to steer clear of CR Fashion Book.

Her sudden departure nearly two years is said to have stemmed from clashes with Condé Nast International CEO Jonathan Newhouse and concerns about her cozy ties to certain fashion designers that the magazine covered.

In her new role, she is free to continue working on outside projects. Hearst said her collaboration “may include covers of many of Harper’s Bazaar’s international editions.” That would seem to put her on a collision course with her old title French Vogue.

kkelly@nypost.com