Happy 62nd Birthday Carine Roitfeld!

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Carine Roitfeld photo by Bruce Weber © 2015 Business of Fashion. All Rights Reserved. Winnie-the-Pooh® birthday balloon enhancement by Kellina de Boer.

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.

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CR Fashion Book images courtesy of crfashionbook.com.

CR Fashion Book Issue 4: Fairy Tales

CR Fashion Book Issue 4: Fairy Tales
By Sarra Salib

The theme for Issue 4 of the bi-annual CR Fashion Book is "Fairy Tales" in which Carine Roitfeld takes as her subject some of our most children's beloved stories, tales that we revisit again and again even as adults to relive our favorite childhood memories, or perhaps to escape from the harsh reality even if only for a short while. The stories featured included "Beauty and the Beast," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "The Empress’s New Clothes," "Fairy Tale Theater," and Carine’s favorite, "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," which makes her cry. 

As we know by now, the work of Carine Roitfeld is enduring and iconic because it shies away from anything that celebrates the mundane or the status quo. In CR Fashion Book Issue 4 there was a twist added to every editorial, and these innocent stories we know so well were transformed and punctuated by Carine’s French accent mark, if you will. And that is actually one of Carine’s many talents: taking something innocent and revamping it into something provocative and politically incorrect. What else do we expect from the queen of porno chic?

In "Fairy Tales," we see a stark juxtaposition of brightness, hope, love, and smiles against loss, darkness, and ominousness. The cover stories convey those themes of brightness, lightness, and love. Lindsey Wixson’s E.T. cover photographed by Carine’s crony Sebastian Faena could not be more spot on. Gracing the reverse cover are Gigi Hadid (who could easily be mistaken for Kate Upton’s twin sister) with Shayne Cureton as shot by the legendary Bruce Weber. With perpetual smiles on their faces, Cureton and Hadid represent the ultimate fairy tale love of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix in their ultra-hippie rock ‘n’ roll Sixties prime. 

Contrary to these lights and smiles, we see "Ferocious," a dark and sinister take on the classic "Beauty and the Beast," starring the now Carine regular Kate Upton as photographed by Karl Lagerfeld. "Ferocious" is captioned “Once Upon a Time Beauty Met Beastly and Liked It.” The photographs are eerily reminiscent of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, with Upton being Estella and the table setting being something that you would expect to find in the humble abode of Miss Havisham. Adding to this element of darkness is the apparent tragedy that Beauty did not end up living happily ever after with the object of her affection.

Another noteworthy editorial in Issue 4 of CR Fashion Book is “The Seven,” Carine Roitfeld's witty, modern, tongue-in-cheek take on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." The story features Ashleigh Good and a diverse cast of smiling children playing their appropriate role as the seven dwarfs, and is shot by Carine’s longtime friend Pamela Hanson. The description to "The Seven" sets the vision for the editorial: “Ashleigh Good stars as part workaday mom, part contemporary Snow White. She makes for a magical, magnetic vision of motherhood.” Perhaps this is Carine's homage to her daughter Julia — granted Julia has only one child and not seven... I think yes!

Although this is a rather belated review of CR Fashion Book Issue 4, it is still appropriate because it proves how Carine’s work remains relevant and will remain relevant even down the line. Moreover, she proves that you may pick any theme you wish, use fashion and creative talent, and turn it into your own story for others to enjoy. In her "Fairy Tales," Carine combines and juxtaposes ideas of happiness and light with darkness and gloom to create memorable images with an array of established and new talents. Rounding off "Fairy Tales" was a fun task, and we cannot wait to see what theme Carine Roitfeld explores for the hotly anticipated Issue 5 of CR Fashion Book.

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Editorial images and illustration by Illustration by Donald “Drawbertson” Robertson © 2014 CR Fashion Book.

CR Fashion Book Issue 3: Hope

The third issue of CR Fashion Book bears the theme I like best thus far — Hope — but the cover gives me very little of it… I infinitely prefer the teaser cover that was shown yesterday to either of the true covers, quelle horreur ! The image of the jeweled mask seen on the teaser is mysterious, alluring, glamorous, and, by virtue of the anonymity of the mask, appealing to every woman. The actual cover images feature Kim Kardashian by Karl Lagerfeld and Riccardo Tisci and Diogo De Castro Gomes, Saville Dorfman, and Emily Ratajkowski by Bruce Weber. Surely it would be a better joke if it were the other way around… I hardly feel this is collectible, I want that bejeweled masked teaser… Carine Roitfeld, please give us Hope...

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CR Fashion Book Issue 3 cover image © 2013 CR Fashion Book. All Rights Reserved.

CR Fashion Book: Hush Little Baby, Don’t You Cry

CR Fashion Book: Hush Little Baby, Don’t You Cry
By Kate Ringo Suzuki

The first issue of CR Fashion Book is entitled REBIRTH. Carine Roitfeld is signaling that she herself is perhaps going through a rebirth in her own life. Or at the very least, that CR Fashion Book is her tender baby, and she is its loving, protective mother. As mothers we love, protect, and guide our babies, but they grow up to be whomever they are destined to become.

Her first editorial is entitled, “Hush Little Baby, Don’t You Cry: A Story About Second Chances and Active Imaginations.” Carine Roitfeld provides the visual imagery, beautifully photographed by Bruce Weber, to accompany a poem entitled “Doll Baptism” by Edwidge Danticat. In it, Carine teaches us about second chances, those points in life when we decide to embark on a new path. What is required is the pure mind of a child, or what in Zen thought is called “Beginner’s Mind,” as well as an active and positive imagination, and a kind of freedom from negative, so-called “realistic” thoughts and worries. In her tale, CR teaches us about openness to the idea that we can make our dreams come true.

The editorial opens with the first line of Danticat’s poem: “When I was a little girl in Haiti, whenever my friends and I would get a new doll (often a white one), we would always have a doll baptism.” 

A doll baptism is a purifying ritual. Here Carine Roitfeld activates our inner little girl: Little girls love playing dress up, they are sweet and innocent, they love their stuffed bears, they love ponies and ballerinas, and they read nursery stories. They love life. They have no worries. They have freedom. Model Kate Upton wears a Little Bo Peep outfit, courtesy of Leg Avenue. It’s funny that these Leg Avenue costumes are featured here so innocently. The reality is that these costumes are marketed to grown-up women looking to spice up their lackluster sex lives — mostly women having a mid-life crisis who are bored with their husbands and want a change. Sure her shoes are Manolo Blahnik, and if you look closely, her coat is by Chloé — that coat is resting at her back. Kate holds a baby pony while a gorgeous male model dons a bear costume. And sweet Audrey Harrelson, the girl model, wears a tutu by Capezio. All have blond hair, hinting at the innocence of childhood.

“We would gather all our friends together to introduce our new doll to our tribe.”

Kate Upton wears another innocent outfit from Leg Avenue. She lounges on a blanket in the grass surrounded by happy naked babies. She is not the mother, but is more like one of them, as happy and as innocent as they are. They make a happy tribe. So we see that changing one’s life takes innocence, a beginner’s mind, and cannot thrive in isolation. Dreams need a tribe of like minds, free and clear, to help them along. The other page is a black and white photo of young Audrey Harrelson wearing a ballerina costume and a tiara while petting a baby pony. We see that Audrey dreams of becoming a ballerina. While she is playacting now, she does not doubt her dreams.

“Then we would choose two of our most special friends to be the godfather and godmother.”

We need mentors. People who love us, watch over us, and see our potential. Kate wears a frothy marabou dress by Alexander McQueen, a vintage children’s apron in gingham embroidered with The Three Bears, and vintage angel wings. She wears a tiara by Oscar de la Renta and holds a baby pig. Carine is reminding us of our childhood memories and feelings by referencing stories such as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "Three Little Pigs" as well as fairies and angels.

“Sometimes the godparents were other little boys and girls, but other times, we chose adults as godparents because they could afford the cola and cookies needed for the baptism reception”

Mentors and supporters of our dreams come in different forms. They can be a part of our tribe of free thinkers, friends of like mind, or they can be more experienced, and perhaps provide financial support. Kate Upton wears a Jil Sander coat over a Leg Avenue dress. She holds a baby lamb and a tutu. She is a grown woman but she has the innocence of a child. She holds the lamb close to her heart, like a child holds a stuffed toy. She holds her innocence close. She doesn’t want it marred.

“Sometimes we would want to keep our doll so close, we would assign no one — not even our beloved brother — to be the father.”

Dreams are delicate. Sometimes we must hold our dreams in our hearts and not share them because we must preserve them and the innocence of the thought, for fear that our dreams could be destroyed by well meaning naysayers.

“And we would say, if anyone asked, that the family pet or one of our stuffed animals was the father because they would not be competing with us for playtime with our doll.”

This is about how our dreams are special to us. We see Audrey Harrelson wearing a tutu and holding a real baby. The male model wears his bear costume and holds the baby pony. They look at one another and Audrey smiles. Audrey, but a child herself, holds a real baby close, as we do with new dreams. We hold our new dreams dear, but we are like children. We know we need more growth to handle them.

“For a while, it was almost as if our doll was alive... As alive as a flock of birds.”

A flock of birds finds its direction instinctively. They work as a group and it comes naturally. So do dreams come about.

“Or a litter of puppies, or a cloud of butterflies, or a real baby... And we imagined and we dreamed what it might be like to one day be mothers to mules or monkeys or unicorns or to real babies who would wail, and moan, and look like us.”

And so there we have it, Carine Roitfeld, the dreamer.

[Editor's note: View Hush Little Baby, Don't You Cry, a short film by Bruce Weber.]

More from CR Fashion Book Issue 1: Rebirth

CR Fashion Book: A Woman's Life
By Renee Hernandez

CR Fashion Book: Elsa
By Bernie Rothschild

CR Fashion Book: High On Rebellion
By Jessica Eritou

Inside the Pages of CR
By Dara Block

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Carine Roitfeld photograph courtesy of thewildmagazine.com. CR Fashion Book images courtesy of crfashionbook.com