Julia Restoin-Roitfeld: 34th Birthday Party

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld toasted her 34th birthday with a bevy of glamorous friends at the dinner to launch the Solid & Striped x Poppy Delevingne collection at The Happiest Hour in New York. Among those on hand to celebrate were Karen Elson, Poppy Delevingne, Eugenie Niarchos, Joan Smalls, Giovanna Battaglia, Jessica Hart, Alexa Chung, Donald Robertson, Harley Viera-Newton, Tom Van Dorpe, Elyse Taylor, and Alexia Niedzielski.

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Julia Restoin-Roitfeld et al photos © 2014 Abaca. Courtesy of Pure People and twitter.com/bat_gio.

Carine Roitfeld: Pirelli Calendar 2015

Carine Roitfeld: Pirelli Calendar 2015
By Bernie Rothschild

The Pirelli Calendar 2015 will be styled by the legendary Carine Roitfeld and photographed by Steven Meisel. It is the first time that the calendar will feature plus-sized models and will include Joan Smalls, Anna Ewers, Adriana Lima, Candice Huffine, Raquel Zimmermann, Gigi Hadid, Isabeli Fontana, Carolyn Murphy, Karen Elson, Natalia Vodianova, Cameron Russell, and Sasha Luss. The 2015 Pirelli theme is "FETISH" which is synonymous with the style of Carine Roitfeld. Her love of bondage fetishism is deeply associated with the way she dresses and reflected in her photo shoot styling. She even themed the 2007 Vogue Paris calendar bondage also featuring Karen Elson as photographed by David Sims which shows her love of eroticism chic.

Carine has been working with Steven Meisel a lot lately (which makes me wonder why they didn't work together during her time at Vogue Paris). It was also Roitfeld and Meisel who were responsible for the first campaign of Tom Ford for YSL Rive Gauche and I assume that it was Carine who conceptualized and styled the controversial Opium campaign featuring the naked Sophie Dahl.

Although it is the first time for Steven Meisel to photograph the prestigious Pirelli Calendar, it is the second time for Carine. She styled the 2001 edition of the calendar featuring the top models of the new millennium as photographed by Mario Testino in Naples, Italy. One thing that is noticeable is every model's silhouette looks very much like Carine Roitfeld's personal style. The high heels, the nudity, the cigarette dangling, the black dresses. Carine is really the queen of erotic and hedonist chic! She seems to be the female reincarnation of Tom Ford with a touch of Helmut Newton. I'm really very excited to see the 2015 Pirelli Calendar which is due in November and, for sure, it will be one of Carine's "greatest hits."

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Pirelli Calendar images © 2014 Pirelli. All Rights Reserved.

CR Fashion Book: Becoming Human

CR Fashion Book: Becoming Human
By Renee Hernandez

It did not surprise me to see actor Michael B. Jordan’s words, "Becoming Human," in the latest issue of CR Fashion Book. Actors such as Anne Hathaway and Kirsten Dunst among others have contributed short stories or essays in past issues.

In the editorial "Lee Daniels Fairy Tale Theater," Oscar winner Lee Daniels gives us a modern reinterpretation of all the classic fairy tales — Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty — starring Joan Smalls as the heroine and, for obvious reasons, Michael B. Jordan as the leading man. My instinct tells me that Carine Roitfeld is on to something by spotlighting him twice in this issue.

I confess, I have been following MBJ for a while now. He won my heart as Vince in Friday Night Lights (my all-time favorite television show), and that high schooler/super hero with telekinetic powers in Chronicle. I have never seen the series The Parenthood but I’ve read that he was great in that as well. Wallace in The Wire. And now the role of a lifetime in Fruitvale Station where his performance as shooting victim Oscar Grant has everyone drawing comparisons to major heavyweight Denzel Washington.

Fruitvale Station is a powerful yet heartbreaking portrayal of the last 24 hours of Grant’s life. You see a love story develop towards all the people he cares about and yet you know what’s going to happen. I think the real power of this film is feeling that constant struggle between good and evil from within... coming to that inevitable fork in the road and trying to make the right decision. That is so real to me. Michael B. Jordan plays this with just the right balance and nuance. Oh man, I was a complete goner. It reminds me of Jordan’s character in Friday Night Lights because I think he also struggled with the same complicated urges.

I loved reading Michael B. Jordan’s process on getting into character. This is my favorite part:

“To make it as real as possible, in each character you have to find a little bit of yourself, and you have to really be vulnerable and raw. You have to be completely honest with yourself in order to give an honest performance.

I always write a journal for my character: where he’s coming from, his fears, his strengths, what he ate that day, the last time he got into an argument, the last time he got whupped, does he get whupped, is he a hard worker, is he a dreamer, is he a pessimist. All of that molds and shapes my character and how he will act and react in certain situations. It’s cool to see characters make a decision, and I always think I just happen to be playing some really amazing characters who have to make some tough choices in the moment and who people, really, really care about.”

I think Carine Roitfeld is telling us that it is time to pay attention to Michael B. Jordan.

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CR Fashion Book editorial images © 2014 CR Fashion Book.