Carine Roitfeld’s appearance is a study in contradiction — at once completely glamourous yet unstudied, even a bit messy to boot. Her look is luxe yet undone, detailed yet simple, edgy yet feminine. With her smudged khôl eyeliner, mysterious shroud of hair, and reckless footwear, she has elegant nonchalance down pat. And to whom does Carine Roitfeld turn for the perfect leather jacket? None other than Rick Owens, but of course. Her choice: A black wrap coat, hitting slightly above the knee, a dramatic obi self-belt gently hugging her waist, punctuated by an oversized shawl collar lined in shearling. On closer inspection one notices that the armholes are set high and that the sleeves are cut skinny and a little long, rendered in soft, supple washed leather so as to perfectly scrunch at the wrist. These subtle details make all the difference. Rick Owen’s leather concoctions are tailored to fit the body like a glove and the results are nothing short of incredible. The long sleeves, the small shoulder, the high armholes, the subtle indentation in the lower back are all crafty design tricks that make the wearer appear longer, leaner, and yes, that indentation in back does in fact make your ass look perkier. No extra lunges required.
No wonder Carine is so fond of her Rick Owens coat. But it is not only the tailoring and the incredible ass perkiness that attracts Carine to Owens' work; one cannot deny the parallels in design sensibilities between the two. Owens’ designs have been hailed as glamour-meets-grunge, avant-garde, subversive, edgy, and sexy. He makes leather jackets with rock star styling then makes them sing with couture-like sophistication. Owens himself says, "I try to make clothes the way Lou Reed does music, with minimal chord changes, and direct. It is sweet but kind of creepy. It's about giving everything I make a worn, softened feeling. It's about an elegance being tinged with a bit of the barbaric, the sloppiness of something dragging and the luxury of not caring."
Owens first attracted attention for his designs when one of his jackets appeared in Vogue Paris on Kate Moss. In 2002, he won the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America Perry Ellis Emerging Talent Award. Born and raised in southern California, Owens made the move to Paris in 2003, where he now resides. In 2007, he won the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award. In terms of physique, the designer himself casts a striking presence with a hard, honed body, and long, straight, dark hair. Now who does that remind you of?
Carine Roitfeld and Rick Owens photographs courtesy of fullissue.com, trendycrew.com, and Fashion Spot.