Carine Roitfeld: Icons

Carine Roitfeld certainly keeps busy, running her own magazines, CR Fashion Book and CR Men’s Book, while contributing heavily to Harper’s Bazaar; yet her well of editorial ideas never runs dry. Her most recent tour de force for HB, “Icons,” shines with her genius. Carine picks nine icons of today and presents each as his or her favorite mythological being, all costumed in the current season of fashion amidst the most divine settings. I particularly enjoy CR’s adaptation of Katy Perry, paying tribute to both Elizabeth Taylor and Andy Warhol with the image, quel génie ! Jean-Paul Goude photographed “Icons” and Stephen Gan provided creative direction but the imagination could only be Carine Roitfeld.

ROSIE HUNTINGTON-WHITELEY AS DIANA VREELAND

"Diana was such an influential, powerful woman who changed fashion from the inside out."

Chanel jacket and tights; J.W. Anderson earrings and boots

Special thanks to Xianzhong Zhai of Chinese Theatre Works

JESSICA CHASTAIN AS JOAN OF ARC

"Individuality makes an icon. Joan of Arc inspires me because she fought against society's constraints. She went against the grain."

Balenciaga dress; Alexander Wang socks and shoes; Fannie Schiavoni gloves

Special thanks to France Vitrail International

OPRAH WINFREY AS GLINDA THE GOOD WITCH

"The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite spiritual tales, and Glinda is a spiritual goddess. I love when she says to Dorothy, 'You've always had the power.' That is the message for all of us: You're born with it, you always have it. It doesn't matter how many yellow brick roads you go down, it's always right there in your heart."

Ralph Lauren Collection dress; Walter Steiger shoes; Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet

MARIAH CAREY AS MARIE ANTOINETTE

"I'm pretty much the opposite of Marie Antoinette, but it's always fun to throw on a costume."

Tom Ford corset; Manolo Blahnik shoes; Le Vestiaire jacket, skirt, petticoats and stockings

DAKOTA JOHNSON AS APHRODITE

"In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the primary image of feminine divine love. To me, she embodies the power of love and pleasure and represents the mystery and intricacy of women."

Neosport wetsuit; Dior boots

LUCKY BLUE SMITH AS LIBERACE

"I like Liberace. He was cool, he was blingy, he was rad, he killed it. He was a performer and I'm a performer."

Burberry Prorsum jacket and pants; Roberto Cavalli shirt; Jacob & Co bracelet; Beladora ring; Jacob & Co ring; Doyle & Doyle ring; Jason of Beverly Hills shoes; Cape and bow tie, courtesy of Ellen Mirojnick

Special thanks to the Liberace Foundation for the Creative & Performing Arts

WILLOW SMITH AS KALI

"When I was little, I would go into my mom's meditation room and read her books about goddesses. Kali stayed with me because she is terrifying yet beautiful."

Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci corset, skirt, and face jewels

CHRIS LEE AS COCO CHANEL

"In China, we say that when a person passes, their soul remains. I really felt that Coco was among us on this day."

Chanel dress, shoes and belt; Ghost of Coco wears vintage Chanel

KATY PERRY AS ELIZABETH TAYLOR

"An icon transcends time. Liz was so fabulous and decadent and had a style that evolved with the years...and I'm sure I'll be married just as many times!"

Azzedine Alaïa dress; Dior Fine Jewelry earrings

Andy Warhol Artwork, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

connect with iwtbar bloglovin | facebook | pinterest | tumblr | twitter

Harper’s Bazaar images © 2015 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Review: CR Men’s Book Issue 1

I am pleased to be in possession of CR Fashion Book Issue 7 as well as CR Men’s Book Issue 1 and my first thought is to salute Carine Roitfeld: C’est fantastique, brava ! My second thought is to clarify information previously published here: CR Men’s Book will be packaged as an annual supplement to CR Fashion Book and will not be sold separately. This is according to Carine’s letter introducing the publication, I find it charming so I am reprinting it here:

Fashion doesn’t look good on men. It’s very difficult to strike a balance between trendy and traditional. Go too far and you look like a victim. Play too safe and you seem like a bore. In between, though, there’s an ambiguity that is seductive — a vagueness of style, of sexuality, of gender, of generation. I love this look on a man.

For the first issue of this annual supplement to CR, I thought to create a cinematic tribute to five legendary men who’ve inspired me with their subtle masculinity and quintessential looks. Over the years, their style — a bit offbeat in each one’s heyday — has evolved to simply be men’s style. Who can forget Kurt Cobain’s distressed cardigans or Christopher Walken’s polished camel coats? What about Robert Mapplethorpe’s penchant for sensual, low-riding black leather and not much else? Or the way River Phoenix made any old white t-shirt look like the coolest white t-shirt in the world? Bob Marley wore his tracksuit like a tuxedo — always cool and together.

Obviously most of these stars have passed. So I selected modern personalities to channel their spirits. Boys like Lucky Blue and Jaden Smith can’t be compared to Christopher or Bob, of course. They’re all such strong individuals. But in their personal freedom, their striking faces, and their embrace of ambiguity, they are one and the same.

— Carine

I love that Carine chose to focus her first issue of CRMB on five of her male style icons: Robert Mapplethorpe by Oliver Greenall, River Phoenix by Love Rönnlund, Kurt Cobain by Logan Flatte, Christopher Walken by Lucky Blue Smith, and Bob Marley by Jaden Smith, all photographed by Sebastian Faena. Also notable is the appearance of Kate Upton in each editorial, adeptly portraying the muse to each of these men: Patti Smith, Winona Ryder, Courtney Love, Natalie Wood, and Cindy Breakspeare, respectively. The Smiths make the issue: Lucky Blue as Walken and Jaden as Marley are exceptional and I found both of their interviews intriguing. It is painful to think that we must wait a year for the next issue of CR Men’s Book but I am certainly looking forward to more of Carine Roitfeld’s way with menswear.

connect with iwtbar bloglovin | facebook | pinterest | tumblr | twitter

CR Men’s Book images courtesy of crfashionbook.com.

Carine Roitfeld: Evening Dare

As we anxiously await the release of CR Men's Book tomorrow, let us amuse ourselves with the editorial “Evening Dare,” a daring take on menswear by Carine Roitfeld and Mario Testino published in Vogue Hommes International in 2007. Merci mille fois to the amazing Paul Kolyer for sharing his insights as well as the images.

Carine Roitfeld: Evening Dare
By Paul Kolyer

This flashback could be called “Roitfeld/Rewind” or “I Want To Be A Male Model Styled By Carine,” either way the team of Roitfeld/Testino created another fabulous editorial for Vogue Hommes Spring/Summer 2007. Just so happens that Taschen has released Mr. Testino's new book, SIR. This volume covers thirty years and will no doubt contain many images styled by CR.

Always ahead of her time, the "gender debate" in menswear was a non-issue for Carine Roitfeld. Her styling here borrows a dress, a bag, and a turban from the Prada line for women. The Prada evening bag is soft and so in style for men now. I love how she uses the single Tiffany diamond at the throat throughout. I wonder if t-shirt sales dropped after seeing this, if you've got the body, leave the tee at home!

All of Carine's fetishes (black, Le Smoking, nipples, waist, pubic hair) are on full display in “Evening Dare.” La Roitfeld really saw the future of menswear with her take on track pants, broaches, jackets over long tunics, and sequins for men — the Fendi sequined cardigan is so sexy for evening under Le Smoking.

The modern man has so many options now and with menswear seeing global double digit growth, Carine Roitfeld may want to use her design skills for a men's collection, sure to be a sell out. And she can style the ad campaign, bien sûr !

connect with iwtbar  bloglovin  |  facebook  |  pinterest  |  tumblr  |  twitter

Vogue Hommes International cover image © 2007 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

CR Men’s Book Issue 1: Lucky Blue Smith

CR Men’s Book, Carine Roitfeld’s new publication devoted entirely to menswear, debuts on 3 September and she has selected Lucky Blue Smith as her cover model for her premiere issue. Photographed by Sebastian Faena, the image focuses on Lucky’s famous blue eye as he gazes into the looking glass. Among the other models sharing the pages of CRMB Issue 1 are Kate Upton, Fetty Wap, Gabriel Day-Lewis, Kaia Gerber, Presley Gerber, and Jaden Smith. The initial issue of CR Men’s Book will be wrapped with CR Fashion Book Issue 7 with subsequent issues sold separately; however, I cannot find a way to order either a subscription or a single issue of CRMB, please let me know if you have any information.

connect with iwtbar bloglovin | facebook | pinterest | tumblr | twitter

CR Men’s Book images courtesy of crfashionbook.com.

CR Fashion Book Issue 7: Classic Eccentric

Gaga… oooo la la… For the seventh issue of her CR Fashion Book, clearly Carine Roitfeld is caught in a Gaga romance. Lady Gaga poses as a bride on the cover as photographed by Bruce Weber, the perfect tribute to the issue’s theme, Classic Eccentric. As for Carine’s thoughts on the issue, she shared her feelings about her choices for the theme and the cover: “The theme for the issue is classic/eccentric because I am interested in what happens when you mix the two. I am fascinated by people who represent both extremes at the same time… It is always better to be a little bit of both. Take me, for example: I love eccentric fashion, but in reality I am quite classic… Lady Gaga perfectly represents what I mean by the classic eccentric to me. She is completely Gaga, but she is also a lady. In her music and art, she is so creative, always pushing the envelope… And yet she is classically trained, as well. As we saw with the jazz music, she can be both the modern pop star and still play the classic songs, giving them a modern twist. That is always what I love.” CR Fashion Book Issue 7 will appear on newsstands 3 September and will be packaged with the premiere issue of CR Men’s Book.

connect with iwtbar bloglovin | facebook | pinterest | tumblr | twitter

CR Fashion Book images courtesy of crfashionbook.com.