Carine Roitfeld For Jil Sander

The lovely and talented Kamila Brudzynska recently acquired the February 1996 issue of Vogue Paris including an article on Jil Sander to which Carine Roitfeld contributed. Kamila kindly translated the article from French to English for us to enjoy, along with providing the scans of the article. Merci mille fois, Kamila.

Jil Sander: Less Is More
Translation by Kamila Brudzynska

Her spring-summer '96 collection is a model of equilibrium. Jil Sander has the art and the way to develop simply modern fashion.

Absolute Relaxation 

Three editors selected their favorite Jil Sander designs to develop according to their own style. Carine Roitfeld, freelance stylist and ex-Glamour stylist, chose a man's sweater in dark grey with a white mini skirt and a white coat with red shantung trousers. Designed by Mats Gustafson. Jil Sander says: "It is a square coat, made from a blend of wool and Panama straw — yes, straw hats are also made of this. We can sculpt this material, which I love because it is not fuzzy, because it is straight ahead, and it confers a strong but relaxed attitude. And just a little color with the trousers to shock."

The Private Eroticism of the White Marinière 

"When I was younger, even before I started to work in fashion, I observed women and I always have told them they can be more beautiful. I wanted to bring out their beauty, the shape of their head, charm, strength. In the late Sixties, women dressed in a ridiculous way, everything was confused, especially in Germany. I may have been one of the first to try to define a woman of strength. There is always a tension in what I'm doing, tension between femininity and a certain androgyny. No tutus, no little girl, and especially not lady-ish."

Lady-ish? This is a German speaking, the blonde Jil Sander. Her first real fashion show took place seven years ago, in Milan; today, Jil Sander although based in Hamburg, has established herself  as the international designer who sets the tone: a sleek and subtle style, which can not discover the secrets and the touch of rare and thoughtful fabrics, or the fitting — 40 jackets cut for every season, each cut in different proportions to the figure of each valued client. Long legs, short legs, long torso, square or small shoulders, young or not, you can find here each individuality. Jil Sander eats breakfast at Relais Plaza, next to her boutique, surrounded by women in clothes from couture tailors whose dogs wears outfits. She appears in sweater, trousers, flat shoes. This is her style, modern, almost muted, but a muted effect with a deep bass that shakes everything without the need for high notes.

"I need to work with quality fabrics, but modern quality, not quality… sweet. Cool wool, the man's fabrics, the man's sweaters, the quality which menswear has but it works as sexy. A feminine attitude, masculine fabrics. The fabric, it is a way of making the voice visible."

Marie-Amélie Sauvé, Vogue editor for 14 years, chose a cashmere turtleneck sweater with the viscose gabardine bermuda shorts, grained leather moccasins by Sergio Rossi, and the marinière with the simple shirt made of canvas cotton blend. All photographed by Michael Thompson and Laurie Bird. Jil Sander says: "I want women to be younger and fresher. The marinière is in cotton pique stretch, with a finish just like paper. It's cut to be close but it's stretch, so it moves with the body. It feels tight as a corset, it pinches but without adding curves."

Materials and Proportions

Franceline Orat, editor-in-chief of accessories and jewelry in Vogue for 18 years, selected the silk shantung pantsuit and the gabardine raincoat tied at the waist, accessorized with jewelry designed by Antoine Rivaud from the 1930s, by Lydia Courteille, and cultured pearls by Angela Pintaldi of the Joyce Gallery. Photographed by Daniel Jouanneau. Jil Sander says: "I like the brilliance of true silk shantung. I designed the pantsuit two years ago in organza, and then in silver fabric, last year in super rayon, now silk attracts me. The coat is in rayon — the kind which I found in Japan: the fabric is twisted which gives it a disturbing touch, toned, resistant but light.

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Vogue Paris editorial images © 1996 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

Carine Roitfeld: Fashion Hero

It is my pleasure to introduce another entry from our The Little Black Jacket contest... "Carine Roitfeld: Fashion Hero" by Kamila Brudzyńska, now a contributing editor for I Want To Be An Alt. I love the qualities of Carine that she chose to highlight in her essay, I hope you will as well. Thanks very much for sharing your passion, Kamila!

Carine Roitfeld: Fashion Hero
By Kamila Brudzyńska 

Carine Roitfeld is probably one of the biggest fashion icons ever. What is more, she is the reason why plenty of women (including me) regret that they are not Parisiennes. Courage, wisdom, and imagination are her main qualities and she is not afraid to use them. As Carine says, she never bought a Vogue issue before becoming the editor-in-chief because she thought it was not her thing. And this was probably the first time when the queen of Vogue Paris was wrong. 

Carine Roitfeld definitely changed my life. When I opened Vogue Paris a few years ago for the first time, I knew this was it. No other edition of Vogue magazine made such impression on me. None was and still is so good, so fresh, and so fabulous. Carine made this magazine the best in the world, one of a kind. 

And Carine's private style? Pure classic, pure chic. She always looks breathtaking. What is more, she always keeps and wears again her clothes. Miss Roitfeld never wears jeans except for holidays because “jeans are for her assistants.” Also she advises other mothers to not wear clothes from their daughters' wardrobes. And Carine definitely knows what she says. 

Carine Roitfeld works with the best: Tom Ford, Mario Testino, Karl Lagerfeld. She proved that she can still be the leader in the fashion world even when she is not the editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris. Her book Irreverent is like a fashion bible. It was a “must have” of the year. The most anxiously awaited and surprising one — just like she is. 

Miss Roitfeld is a very strong women. I can find plenty of comparisons of her to another fashion icon — Coco Chanel. Both are the forerunners in fashion. They have never been afraid of their work and their ideas, even — or maybe especially — controversial ones. Mademoiselle Chanel and Carine Roitfeld both are women with chic, elegant, and one-of-a-kind style and undeniable charm. 

Carine Roitfeld is like a deep well of inspiration. She is a role model for plenty of women throughout the world. Carine is not only a fashion expert. You can model yourself after her to be a wonderful mother, wife, and friend, a great stylist and editor-in-chief — a true business woman. I think in some way she is a hero for many fashion lovers. The best summary of her person is in her own words said with a pinch of salt: “Let the others have the beauty. I’ve got the charisma.”

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Carine Roitfeld photograph courtesy of Fashion Spot.