Hold on to some hope though, because she later tweeted that she was “looking forward to working with Bellmedia + evolving the FT brand.” A spokesman for Bell Media confirmed the news to Canada’s National Post saying, “The iconic Jeanne Beker remains with Bell Media and the company looks forward to an exciting future with her, including the development of new projects. Bell Media remains committed to the fashion genre and will continue to grow FashionTelevisionChannel to deliver a broader appeal for viewers, advertisers, and distributors.”
Fashion Television’s weekly half-hour show was viewed in more than 130 countries, and gained a loyal following for its fashion coverage and interviews with iconic personalities like Karl Lagerfeld and the late Alexander McQueen. Fashion Television devotees in the forums were saddened by the news. “Fashion Television is one my favorite shows in the world, always so informative and entertaining. Plus Jeanne Beker is a fantastic host. I’ll definitely miss this,” Marc10 posted.
“Sad news indeed,” Chanelcouture09 wrote. “I loved how raw it could be at times, I look forward to seeing what [Beker] will be doing in the future, she made a great host for Fashion Television and whatever they do next I hope it isn’t too polished or contrived. The DNA they had with the production was fantastic and informative, yet approachable.”
The end of Fashion Television marks the end of an era, but my guess is that the brand will in fact continue to evolve and that we’ll be seeing more of Jeanne Beker in online content. At least I hope so. To soften the blow (or perhaps make it worse), I’ll leave you with a segment featuring Beker’s 1997 interview with Alexander McQueen.
Image: Jeanne Beker of Fashion Television; Dominic Chan/ WENN.com
