Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt worked together at the magazine 20 Ans in the Nineties, a publication reputed for the ability to spot burgeoning talent at that time. As fashion coordinator, 20 Ans asked Alt to describe her top ten fashion favorites. It is interesting to look back and see which of her preferences have endured. Here are Alt's favorites in both French and English (by the way, I have officially stopped worrying about wearing too much black):

1. Les tongs en plastique noir, c'est facile, chic et sexy.
2. Des collants noirs en microfibre Wolford (à cause d'une sublime campagne de Newton).
3. Le pantalon noir Helmut Lang, parce qu'il est indémodable, taille basse, ni large, ni moulant.
4. Je n'en porte pas mais, de temps en temps, une jupe Ann Demeulemeester noire parfaitement coupée, pieds nus avec les jambes obligatoirement bronzées.
5. Le manteau noir Costume National, minuscule carrure, un style couture moderne.
6. Le soutien-gorge Glossies de Gossard, sublime, couleur noir ou chair, comme un collant, sans couture.
7. Le tshirt noir APC manches courtes, parce qu'il est petit, qu'il ressemble à un tshrt 1970 et qu'il vieillit bien.
8. Les lunettes mouche noires d'Armani, genre Bono de U2.
9. La montre Rolex modèle Air King car on n'a jamais fait mieux.
10. Une robe longue noire Galliano, chic sans être mémère, sexy, pure, avec des sandales talons Manolo Blahnik.

1. Black plastic flip flops, easy, chic, and sexy.
2. Black stockings by Wolford (because of the sublime campaign by Newton).
3. Black trousers by Helmut Lang, because they are timeless and low waisted, loose fitting but not too loose.
4. I don’t wear them [skirts] but from time to time a black Ann Demeulemeester skirt cut perfectly, barefoot, and the legs must be tan.
5. Black coat by Costume National, tiny cut, totally modern.
6. Glossies bra by Gossard, amazing, in either black or beige, like tights, seamless.
7. Black short-sleeved tshirt by APC, because it is small, it looks like a tshirt from the 1970s and it ages well.
8. Black sunglasses by Armani, like Bono of U2.
9. Air King watch by Rolex because they do not make one better.
10. Long black dress by Galliano, chic without being granny, sexy, pure with Manolo Blahnik heels.

More Alt trivia: Emmanuelle's approximate age is 42 (she is noted as 40 in an article dated December 2007), she is obsessed with the era influenced by the film Saturday Night Fever, and her favorite book is Raised by Wolves by Jim Goldberg.

Emmanuelle Alt interview © 2010 20 Ans. All Rights Reserved.
Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt photograph © 2009 Café Mode. All Rights Reserved.