Carine Roitfeld: Sneak Peek

As Harper's Bazaar Australia recently pointed out, I am in heaven right now. There's no other possible explanation for the abundance of Carine Roitfeld right now. First, Rizzoli New York has begun revealing spreads from the forthcoming biography, Carine Roitfeld: Irreverent. They specify that the images cannot be reproduced without written permission from the publisher so check their Facebook page and prepare to be mesmerized! I cannot wait to get my hands on this book... Also, note that a signed poster of Carine will be included in a special edition available exclusively at Barneys New York... Which segues perfectly in to the next Roitfeld sneak peek... I have been meaning to mention that Barneys is revealing new images from the campaign Carine Roitfeld has styled and guest edited for Fall 2011 — "Carine's World"— one a day through Fashion Week so be sure to check their blog regularly. I will also be adding the catalog spreads to the photo gallery. Oh to be a Roitfeld...

Carine Roitfeld et al photographs © 2011 Barneys New York. All Rights Reserved.

Carine Roitfeld's Barneys New York Windows

I imagine many of us wonder what Carine Roitfeld has in store for the window displays she is masterminding for Barneys New York to introduce the autumn styles. Here to offer a few predictions as to what we might see behind the glass at Barneys come September is the always delightful Kate Ringo Suzuki, editor-at-large for New York. Thank you so much, Kate, I would love to see any of your fabulous concepts in Carine's hands...

Carine Roitfeld's Barneys New York Windows
By Kate Ringo Suzuki 

Carine Roitfeld has been quoted as saying: “We are very free in France. We are free with sex, with cigarettes…” And now Ms. Roitfeld’s brand of free, sexually charged styling is on its way stateside. Fashionistas rejoice! Any day now Carine Roitfeld will be lending her iconic talent to a collaboration with the Barneys flagship store in New York. Beyond styling the catalogs and advertisements, her looks will be featured in Barneys' legendary windows. Carine Roitfeld is about to get New York fashion all hot and bothered.

La Roitfeld and Barneys New York are a match made in heaven. Barneys is fun, sexy, and full of merchandise that you can’t get anywhere else... well other than The Pleasure Chest in the West Village that is. Ms. Roitfeld is the “queen of porno chic” after all. About that little label, “queen of porno chic,” Ms. Roitfeld told New York Magazine, “I’ve always been provocative, but what I’m going to do next is a new way of provocation. I did for many years porno chic. I was the queen of porno chic. And I will do something totally different now.” Do something different? Oh, Carine! Please do not change one bit! New York needs you. If anyone can stimulate our economy, it would be you!

What will the Barneys New York windows look like under Carine’s direction? Perhaps she will take cues from her past work at Vogue Paris. She could, for example, reference that famous editorial, "La Panthère Ose," from the Dec 2010/Jan 2011 issue…

Dress a mannequin as a kind of modern day Mrs. Robinson. I can see it now: the bouffant hairstyle, the Jean Paul Gaultier black leather and wool trench coat and black skinny pants… the bandaged face. Mrs. Robinson just had some work done. Just a touch. Her head is completely bandaged up save for some generously mascaraed eyes peeking out. The Mrs. Robinson mannequin is kissing a male mannequin wearing a very proper Hickey Freeman suit.

Oh, I know. She could reference that old standby, her scandalous “No Smoking” editorial from the April 2009 issue of Vogue Paris…

Show the mannequin in a white Yves Saint Laurent tuxedo jacket with nothing underneath. Pair that with black chiffon Kiki de Montparnasse shorts and Giuseppe Zanotti platform t-straps. Pad the front of the YSL le smoking with a pillow. Pregant mannequin. In one hand mannequin holds a picnic basket from Chelsea Passage, containing a baby doll purchased at nearby FAO Schwartz. In the other hand, position a cigarette between the mannequin's fingers. Puff puff. Bad mommy!

Or she could go back even further in time, back to the iconic "Corps & Lames" featured in Vogue Paris in February 2005…

The mannequin wears a full-length Gucci black chiffon dress covered with little white polka dots, exposing black panties and bare mannequin nipples. Shocking!! The mannequin is seductively positioned bending over a sterile stainless steel table, stabbing at some raw meat. Okay, so raw meat might pose a problem, what with flies and cockroaches. We'll work on it...

Whatever Carine Roitfeld does with Barneys' windows, I know it will be brilliant. And it will definitely not look anything like the windows of a certain bourgeois competitor... Looking forward to a most fashionable September to remember....

Vogue Paris editorial images © 2005, 2009, 2010 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

Carine Roitfeld For Barneys New York

Carine Roitfeld for Barneys New York © 2011 Barneys New York. All Rights Reserved.

Carine Roitfeld's Barneys Party

Carine Roitfeld hosted a party for Barneys New York at Caviar Kaspia in Paris and it looks to be one chic soirée. On hand for the celebratory dinner were Olivier Zahm, Mario Sorrenti, Aaron de Mey, Victoire de Castellane, Thomas Lenthal, Luigi Murenu, and Saskia de Brauw among others. Be sure to visit purple DIARY for more fabulous photos from the party.

Carine Roitfeld photographs courtesy of purple-diary.com.

Carine Roitfeld For Barneys

Amidst all the flying rumors, I never heard a peep about Carine Roitfeld's new gig: Mark Lee, the new CEO for Barneys New York, has chosen her as guest editor, stylist, and muse for the fall campaign — catalog, mailers, windows, web site, even a short film! Barneys is famous for discovering and developing innovative and talented designers, so our favorite arbiter of style seems like a natural in this role. Carine will work with Barneys creative director Dennis Freedman (formerly creative director of W) and photographer Mario Sorrenti to create the new campaign. Freedman talks about the development of the relationship between Carine and Barneys: "Carine is a one of a kind talent. She is both a muse and an inspiration. She has extraordinary individual style and infectious passion, and I have always admired her work... We had a discussion about how extraordinary she is and the possibility that we might do something together. [Roitfeld] is the ideal muse as well as editor... She appeals to all ages. She is independent and strong, and yet she is completely feminine. She is a woman of the world, which we like to think our customer is, as well... the perfect reflection of our customer." 

What does Carine think about all of this? I have aggregated the various quotes she has made about her new role: "It's very exciting. 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. To be on the other side with the retailers and buyers is new for me, and I always like new opportunities in my life. 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. To be able to work in the US, with Barneys, is a dream come true. It is my first time working on the retail side of the fashion business, and I am so excited. Barneys is my favorite store in the States and partnering with them has been thrilling for me.  I am sure that one day I will, even if it’s not my own magazine, do special stories for magazines and maybe something on the Internet. I have projects and opportunities coming on. The only sure thing I know is that I will keep my freedom. I can be a muse for a designer, I can do work for some magazines, and do advertising, and maybe something like Barneys, but still keep my freedom. 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."

In addition to shooting the campaign, Mario Sorrenti will create a short film of Carine "being fabulous," an intimate look at her style and her world,  “allowing the retailer’s customers a more personal view of her, from her views on fashion and style to her world at large.” Sorrenti notes, "I am hoping to capture something very personal, a portrait of her in a way. When Carine and I are together, it's fun, and she is really cool and really herself, and it's that intimacy that I want to capture. She has a great sense of humour, and she is very provocative and very free in the way that she doesn't plan about who she is and what she is going to say. She is very natural, which is great." Freedman says, "Collaborating with Mario Sorrenti to capture a more intimate side of Carine that few people know is an incredible gift to be able to bring directly to the Barneys New York customer." The campaign launches in September at the Barneys flagship store on Madison Avenue so we need wait only a few months for this goodness. Happily Carine can spend more time closer to her children as a result, as she notes: "New York is my dream city, and part of my family is in New York." and we will see her seated front row for New York Fashion Week this autumn.

Carine Roitfeld photograph courtesy of Fashion Spot