Carine Roitfeld: Grand Entrance

Olivier Zahm shot this photograph of the entrance to the Parisian apartment of Carine Roitfeld and Christian Restoin, of course the exterior of the building is as refined as the interior. The black and white treatment heightens the impact, accenting the graceful lines and the lovely stone textures of the facade. I never realized until seeing this photo how much I desire a powerful pair of marble columns adorning the entrance to my home...

Carine Roitfeld's Parisian apartment building © 2010 Purple Fashion magazine.

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld At Serpentine

On July 9, London's fashion elite converged on the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens for one of the highlights of the British social calendar. Julia Restoin-Roitfeld was resplendent in the jet black beaded dress from Topshop pictured above. Other fabulous partygoers included hostess Malin Jeffries (in Donna Karan), Mario Testino, Dasha Zhukova (in Alaïa), Pharrell Williams, Thandie Newton (in a Matthew Williamson digital print dress, pre-Spring 2010 at that), Bianca Jagger, Roisin Murphy (in Dolce & Gabbana), Lily Donaldson, Erin O'Connor (in Donna Karan), Natalie Imbruglia, Poppy Delevigne (also in Topshop), and Damien Hirst. This annual soirée is for a good cause, too; the proceeds will help to fund the Serpentine Gallery's art education program for children.

Also worth noting is the design of this year's outdoor pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery. Each summer since 2000, the gallery has commissioned an internationally recognized architect to create an open-air space for seasonal events. This year the Serpentine chose Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of the Tokyo firm Sanaa. The polished aluminum canopy and stainless steel columns snake through Kensington Gardens reflecting the sky and the trees. The serpentine structure seems to meld into its natural setting rather than conflicting with it. Other works by Sanaa include the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, the Christian Dior store in Tokyo, and the Zollverein School of Management and Design in Essen, Germany.

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld photograph courtesy of handbag.com
Serpentine Gallery photograph courtesy of fabsugar.com