Mary Katrantzou

Carine Roitfeld recently professed her love for London fashion and the brilliant young designers at work in the city, singling out the talent of Mary Katrantzou in particular: "She is one of my favorites, her clothes are incredible!" La Roitfeld's taste is on target as usual — Katrantzou just won the Swiss Textile Award for 2010, a prize valued at €100,000 and widely considered one of the most prestigious awards in the world of fashion. Past winners include Alexander Wang, Laura and Kate Mulleavy, Marios Schwab, and Raf Simons. Katrantzou was also nominated for this year's British Fashion Award.

Known informally as the "princess of prints," Katrantzou was born in Athens, Greece in 1983, and studied architecture at Rhode Island School of Design before transferring to Central Saint Martins where she attained her degrees in textile design. She gained valuable experience working for Sophia Kokosalaki and Bill Blass among other designers before creating her own label. When asked why she chose London, the designer replied, "It's a constant source of energy and inspiration to live and work in London. It has a reputation for great fashion, influential museums, and strong education. That all becomes part of your formation.”

Katrantzou's bold surrealist collection for Spring/Summer 2011 is titled "Ceci n'est pas une chambre" and draws upon inspiration from sources such as René Magritte, Helmut Newton, Architectural Digest, and Guy Bourdin in achieving an exquisite trompe l'œil effect. Carine plans to spotlight Katrantzou and her fantastic creations in an upcoming issue of Vogue Paris featuring ten of the best designers in London.

Mary Katrantzou photographs © 2010 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

Xavier Romatet

Perhaps you have noticed this dashing gentleman at various Vogue Paris events and he has aroused your curiosity — introducing Xavier Romatet, president of Condé Nast Publications and one of the bosses of Carine Roitfeld. Prior to joining Condé Nast, Romatet worked for twenty years in the world of advertising, including thirteen at Omnicom Group's DDB France. He earned his MBA at HEC in Paris.

Romatet holds a high opinion of Carine, extolling her as a savvy woman of business with an acute sense for what stimulates her readers: "Carine is probably the most creative person I've met in my life." Under the leadership of La Roitfeld, Vogue Paris advertising revenues are up nearly 10 percent and circulation has increased by 27 percent despite economic conditions. Romatet notes that Vogue Paris is the world's most profitable magazine and refers to this as the "Carine effect," no faint praise from a man in his position.

How does Romatet envision the future of Vogue Paris and magazines in general? Realistically he admits that return on investment is never guaranteed but remains optimistic, steadily working to launch new titles in niche markets around the world and exploring the digital frontier. Romatet believes that the strong personalities running his brands and the influence they wield are key to the success of his product which he views as a luxury object. The reputation of the product itself is desired by discerning consumers (coincidentally most of whom are cozy in the upper income bracket) who buy Vogue Paris for the unique perspective. Call it The Carine Effect.™

Carine Roitfeld and Xavier Romatet photograph courtesy of doloresfancy.blogspot.com. Carine Roitfeld, Xavier Romatet, and Emmanuelle Alt photograph © 2010 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

Update on samedi 30 octobre 2010 by kellina

I like his voice as well, check out this video in which Xavier Romatet talks about Vogue Paris' Fashion Celebration Night. Note that Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt are also interviewed at length.

Diptyque Tubereuse Candle

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld wisely noted that certain smells remind us of home and for her the scent of the Diptyque Tubéreuse Candle always makes her feel as if she is back in Paris with her parents. Carine Roitfeld prefers the scent of tubéreuse (or in English, "tuberose") and burns the Diptyque candles in her home constantly.

It is no wonder that tubéreuse is La Roitfeld's favorite scent as it is one of the most costly ingredients used in blending perfumes. The tubéreuse is a white flower native to Mexico and unusual in that it deploys its heady fragrance at dusk. Described as beguiling, captivating, intoxicating, sensual, intense, enchanting, exotic, tubéreuse does indeed sound like the smell that epitomizes Carine...

The candles by Diptyque are also on par with the Roitfeld standard of quality: the wax is a natural vegetable and paraffin formula custom blended to complement the scent of tubéreuse and distributed properly so that the candle burns evenly. The cotton, lead-free wick is placed into each glass and straightened and trimmed by hand. Talk about white glove treatment! With care, the Diptyque candles will burn for 50 to 60 hours on average so enjoy the essence of Carine while it lasts...

Diptyque Tubereuse Candle image courtesy of diptyqueparis.com.
Tuberose photographs courtesy of candlefind.com and shapingyouth.org.

Lutz & Patmos

Marcia Patmos and Tina Lutz (aka design label Lutz & Patmos) are closing shop but before doing so they have kindly issued a special edition of the Carine Roitfeld Sweater in honor of the 10th anniversary. Carine originally partnered with Lutz & Patmos in the spring of 2006 to create a slim fitting cashmere crewneck with "engineered runs for ripped and pulled effect, small tubular hems, elbow patches." God, how I love this woman's mind! The sweater was offered in a tempting assortment of colors: black, aero, and silver heather for women; black, bleu marine, and silver heather for men.

The anniversary edition of the Carine Roitfeld Sweater by Lutz & Patmos is available right now through Barneys New York in black only. Note that a portion of the proceeds with be donated to Operation Smile, a charity that works to improve the medical treatment worldwide for children with facial deformities such as cleft lips and palates so do not feel guilty about indulging in the Carine Roitfeld Sweater — it helps to benefit a worthy cause. Also remember that with premade moth holes this cashmere beauty will endure.

Tina Lutz and Marcia Patmos photograph © 2010 Sundance Channel. All Rights Reserved.
Carine, Julia, and Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld in Carine Roitfeld Sweater courtesy of Lutz & Patmos.
Photograph of Carine Roifeld Sweater courtesy of barneys.com.

Penaudio

If you have peeked inside the apartment of Carine Roitfeld, perhaps you noticed the Penaudio speakers flanking the fireplace in her sitting room. Always one to choose the best design, naturally Carine's stereo equipment is technically and aesthetically supreme. Her speaker of choice is the Penaudio Serenade, the company's flagship model which is said to "epitomize their vision of natural sound" though I have yet to hear it myself. This sleek beauty is available in six different finishes and Carine has selected birch to match her bespoke David Chipperfield cabinets. Join La Roitfeld and enter the realm of auditional wellbeing™ today...

Penaudio Serenade speaker image courtesy of penaudio.fi
Photograph of the apartment of Carine Roitfeld and Christian Restoin © 2008 Taschen GmbH. All Rights Reserved.