Former Vogue Paris editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld has finally put those gossiping rumors to rest and confirmed where her next fashionable business venture lays – and no, it’s not a collaboration with Tom Ford.

In fact, Roitfeld is teaming up with American superstore Barneys to become the store’s guest editor and stylist for autumn/winter 2011-12 – not to mention she’ll be styling and editing the branch’s advertising campaign, catalogue, newsletters as well as the Madison Avenue windows which unveil in September – talk about a handful, eh?

“It’s very exciting,” says Carine. “It’s a new kind of project for me. It’s good to have a new life, because now I can do projects that I never dreamed of before. For me, Barneys has always been the biggest name in luxury department stores, so to be able to participate in this project with them, and be visible during the next fashion week in New York, is my dream come true. To a French girl, it’s a big, big dream.”

Roitfeld also brushes off the endless rumors that have been circulating over the past few months.

“Each day it’s changing,” says Roitfeld. “One day I am going to Dior with Riccardo Tisci, the next day I am going to Saint Laurent with Hedi Slimane. I don’t think it’s very nice for the designer at Saint Laurent, and it’s just rumours. What I know is that I now have my freedom and I will keep my freedom forever. I am very excited to have this freedom and to have projects like the one at Barneys.”

But the move from editorial to styling has always been something Roitfeld felt strongly about over the years.

“To be on the other side with the retailers and buyers is new for me, and I always like new opportunities in my life,” she explains to Vogue UK. “When I was doing my styling, most of the time I was thinking about a real woman who was going to wear the clothes. Sometimes I was thinking about myself, sometimes about a woman who really inspired me, but it was always about the woman. Working with Barneys, and choosing the looks, I was thinking about whether a real woman would buy this outfit and feel beautiful and comfortable.”