French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld. Photo via CiticanCouture.com

The entire fashion world — and some nonfashionistas as well — are madly in love with French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld. She’s sassy and smart, a woman who walks to her own drumbeat.

In a world of appearances where few speak their minds for fear of offending and losing precious ad revenue, Carine Roitfeld is as directly honest as they come.

Roitfeld has long bypassed the ‘labored sexiness’ of Hollywood stars, although this photo is unusually understated for the frankly sexy, fifty-five year-old mother of two. Roitfeld has led the revival of tough chic dressing, a fusion of sometimes disheveled sexiness with a “don’t mess with me” attitude.

It occurred to me this morning that the tough-girl clothes, a NYTimes Style focus Damsel in Distress - Sweet Looks Give Way to a Gender-Blurring Chic, are a coverup on size 0, emaciated bodies that have no muscle but look the part in leather.

Photos via NYTimesPS, I adore Carine Roitfeld, so the above is no criticism.

Roitfeld is particularly daring on the trend of shooting controversy into fashion editorial. French Vogue, with ad revenue up 60% in this dreadful economy. Fashion can be political, believe it or not. I ask you — can you imagine this Terry Richardson French Vogue calendar 2009 photo in American Vogue?

(Updated May 2, 2010. Ironically, AOC ended up in trouble with Google Images, which is a huge source of traffic for us. See today’s column Helena Christensen | Google Images Unfiltered Search Jail.

I didn’t think so. With all the talk about girls cleaning up their act, I believe the fashion statement is more complex. Bustier and corset sales are through the roof, thanks largely to the movie “Nine”.

Just this week, we featured Lara Stone, styled by Roitfeld for “French Vogue” in a not subtle reference to “the church”. (See Lara Stone’s Sexy Body Debate Gets Religious.)

Generally the trend is toward provocation, which is expressed many ways. Carine Roitfeld almost always explores the full dimension of female sexuality. In France and also in Italy, women celebrate their sensuality with the full confidence that they can be both ‘bad’ and still ‘good’ at any age.

Carine Roitfeld attending Nicola’s Pol’s “The Martus Maw”, wearing suede over the knee boots from Christian Louboutin and a cape and wit sheer lace. via Fashionising.comAgreed — ladylike is out, but ‘sexy’ still has a broad definition, a statement that doesn’t come through in the NYT article, possibly because America consistently trails in fashion.

I sense that the NYT is taking the modesty subject a bit too seriously. Technically-speaking, Roitfelt is covered.

The Telegraph UK ran a Carine Roitfeld feature last month, titled If looks could kill.

Bon mots in the interview:

-Black? ‘It’s finished.’

-Leather? ‘No good as you get older.’

-Thongs? ‘Before I love strings. Now I hate strings.’

Oh this is horrible, the fifties. Oh,’ she shudders. ‘I am quite lucky. I have the same body when I was 20 years old. But when you are getting older, you have to find some new tricks.’ She tells me she whitens her teeth, touches up her dark hair (‘it’s not white, just a bit grey, eh?’) and French manicures her hands. She has always been a ‘black-eyes girl’, but recently she discovered that adding a little white to the inside of the inner lid ‘lifts, opens them’. She tames her bushy eyebrows (‘My signature’) every morning. She does pilates. She never, she says, frowns. ‘

Botox? No. I don’t like Botox. It makes a very strange forehead.’ Do you promise? ‘Yes. The only thing I am doing is massage to de-stress the face. You know, with fingers? No, I don’t do Botox, or surgery. I am anxious people would look at me: “The lips are not like before - what did she do?”’ When I tell people she said this afterwards, no one believes her. But I do. I can’t see why she would lie. via Telegraph UK

Roitfeld says she’s fun after one glass of vodka. More beautiful, too. She takes one tranquilliser, Lexomyl, every day to stay calm. Running the magazine is ‘like walking on eggs,’ she says. ‘All these egos.’

More on Carine Roitfeld: