Julia Restoin Roitfeld: Art For Love

Julia Restoin Roitfeld by Pamela Hanson

Would you like to own this portrait of Julia Restoin Roitfeld by Pamela Hanson? Don’t miss your chance to add this work to your personal art collection, if the price is right… Julia posed as part of a project titled “Art For Love,” an exhibition of images by 32 photographers curated by Fabien Baron and organized by Moncler in celebration of their “Maya” puffer jacket.

When asked about the inspiration behind the puffer jacket as subject, Remo Ruffini, the president of Moncler, replied: “I chose the Maya jacket as the ‘subject’ of this project because it represents [the brand’s] heritage, and is at the same time so iconic that these master lensmen could interpret it as they wished. The exhibition features extraordinary images by masters of the camera who use their very own language to depict love as the bedrock of the life of human beings… It’s something really incredible because we gave [the photographers] the freedom; we didn’t give them any brief. We said you have to do exactly you, and that was really the key... You really see the jacket but in different ways. In some pictures it looks like a sports jacket, in some pictures it looks like a piece of art.”

Francesco Carrozzini and Franca Sozzani

The “Art For Love” images were exhibited privately at an exclusive opening event at the New York Public Library and the guest list was sublime: of course Julia Restoin Roitfeld was among the guests as well as Lucky Blue and Pyper America Smith, the current faces of Moncler, Franca Sozzani, Francesco Carrozzini, Giovanna Battaglia, Terry Richardson, Paolo Roversi, Pamela Hanson, Margherita and Teresa Missoni, and Eva Cavalli.

The proceeds from “Art For Love” will help to fund research by Carine Roitfeld’s favorite charity, amfAR, via their project Countdown to a Cure for AIDS. Julia herself wrote on Instagram: “So proud to be part of the @moncler x @amfar exhibition shot by @pamela_hanson and curated by @fabienbaron #artforlove #amfar New York Public Library.” The photographs are on auction via Paddles through 29 September, bid now for your chance to own this exquisite portrait of Julia Restoin Roitfeld.

Lucky Blue Smith and Pyper America Smith

The list of photographers involved in the “Art For Love” project reads like a Who’s Who of today's tops from A to Z…

Camilla Akrans
David Bailey
Lachlan Bailey
Fabien Baron
Patrick Demarchelier
Arthur Elgort
Hans Feurer
Pamela Hanson
Ben Hassett
Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin
Mikael Jansson
Steven Klein
Brigitte Lacombe
Annie Leibovitz
Peter Lindbergh
Roxanne Lowit
Craig McDean
Alasdair McLellan
Raymond Meier
Steven Meisel
Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott 
Guido Mocafico
Josh Olins
Ezra Petronio
Terry Richardson
Paolo Roversi
David Sims
Mario Sorrenti
Sølve Sundsbø
Willy Vanderperre
Bruce Weber
Olivier Zahm

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Julia Restoin Roitfeld et al at Moncler for amfAR photos © 2015 Moncler and Condé Nast and courtesy of Instagram. All Rights Reserved.

Roitfeld In De Pury Collection

Although he has recently made his home in London, Simon de Pury's chic Parisian pied-à-terre appeared in New Paris Interiors and, while browsing the book recently, I was delighted to see that he collects the work of Carine Roitfeld. As one of the world's most successful auctioneers, de Pury has taken the opportunity to amass an impressive collection of art, furniture, and artifacts that includes pieces by Pablo Picasso, Takashi Murakami, Ron Arad, George Condo, Ai Weiwei, Os Gêmeos, and Juergen Teller, among many others.

Above the dining table and chairs designed especially for him by Franz West, de Pury has chosen to hang the work of one of my favorite artistic collaborations — Carine Roitfeld and Mario Testino. Their piercing image of Eva Herzigova fondling her blade, clad in a white Valentino top that is shielded from the blood by a butcher's apron, must certainly lead to interesting conversations over dinner. The image was published originally in the provocative editorial titled "The Butcher" which Roitfeld and Testino created for The Face in 1997. Suffice to say, Simon de Pury is a man of rare taste.

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Simon de Pury photo by Simon Upton © 2013 Hearst Communications, Inc. Simon de Pury apartment in Paris photo © 2008 Taschen GmbH. The Face editorial images © 1997 The Face. All Rights Reserved.

Review: The Little Black Jacket

Extra special thanks to Sarra Salib, the winner of our The Little Black Jacket contest, for her review of the book which appears below. If you have not had a chance to see this book in person yet, I definitely recommend you do so, the stark layout and the quality materials support the elegant images perfectly.

Review: The Little Black Jacket
By Sarra Salib

It would be an understatement to claim that a Carine Roitfeld and Karl Lagerfeld collaboration is legendary. Revamping Coco Chanel’s classic design is a challenging task; however, this explosive combination of creative minds had the ability to transform the jacket from its simple yet elegant reality to the most fanciful of fantasies. The result is images that are unabashedly clean and stark, dark and romantic.

Perhaps my favorite element of The Little Black Jacket is the unrestraint of each individual’s personality. From Vladimir’s rather stoic and elusive expression to Akuol De Mabior’s African heritage, each person’s individuality remains intact to the very last image. With Carine’s brilliant styling and Karl’s dramatic photography, the jacket never overpowers the individual’s spirit, but rather becomes a means to illuminate it. This crucial element takes a tongue-in-cheek turn when the Anna Wintour image hits. The signature bob, the jacket propped on the shoulders just so, the austere pose. Description is still provided just in case someone is at a loss as to who this character might be.

The Little Black Jacket’s milky way of model repertoire runs the gamut: actors, models, designers, adults, children, musicians, talk show hosts, men and women alike. Carine and Karl don’t discriminate. They prove that one garment can pass the test of versatility and have the ability to be dressed up or down. They also throw convention out the door. The jacket doesn’t have to be worn just as a jacket. It can be worn as a skirt, as a headpiece, or simply wrapped around your top if you are willing to be daring. Individuality and Freedom. What else could anyone want?

The Little Black Jacket is a classic and is undoubtedly leaving an indelible mark in the fashion world. Its 113 towering images maintain a duplicity of complexity and simplicity that brings modernity to an item that has been around for ages. Bravo Carine and Karl.

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The Little Black Jacket book images © 2012 Chanel. All Rights Reserved.

Carine Roitfeld: La Petite Veste Noire Paris

"The Little Black Jacket" opened in Paris last week at the Grand Palais, displaying the elegant black and white portraits that are collected in the book of the same name by Carine Roitfeld and Karl Lagerfeld. Among the chic guests celebrating the launch were Anja Rubik, Laetitia Casta, Daphne Guinness, Haider Ackermann, Charlotte Casiraghi, Maïwenn, Caroline de Maigret, Aymeline Valade, Sigrid Agren, and Theophilus London. After the reception, guests enjoyed a private performance by Frank Ocean at the Mini-Palais. "The Little Black Jacket" exhibit will be open to the public at the Grand Palais from 10 to 25 November.

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Carine Roitfeld photographs © 2012 Olivier Borde/Best Image, PacificCoastNews.com, thefrontrowview.com, fashionweekdaily.com, chanel-news.chanel.com, purepeople.com, Getty Images, instagram.com/francistenenbaum, mixbeat.tumblr.com. All Rights Reserved.

Roitfeld And Testino For The Face

In light of the exciting news about the latest collaboration between Carine Roitfeld and Mario Testino for V Magazine, I thought it would be fun to look at the influential work this fashion powerhouse created for The Face. One of the coolest magazines to come out of the UK, The Face was launched by Nick Logan in May 1980, and last published in May 2004. Legendary as an arbiter of taste in pop culture and particularly fashion, The Face was a natural stage for the vision of Roitfeld and Testino which was especially raw during this period — literally at times. The first cover, shown above, featured Jerry Dammers of The Specials as styled by Steve Bush, the founding art director. Other notable art directors for the groundbreaking publication were Neville Brody (1981–86) and Lee Swillingham (1993-1999). A few of the fashion photographers that were first published in The Face are Inez Van Lamsweerde, Craig McDean, Steven Klein, David LaChapelle, Glen Luchford, Norbert Schoerner, and Elaine Constantine.

“The Butcher”
The Face, 1997
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Model: Eva Herzigova
Photographer: Mario Testino

When asked which of her editorials was most compelling, Carine named "The Butcher" with Eva Herzigova for the humor: "I had a very good period where I was working at French Glamour and I was working for The Face. The 'butcher' shoot with Eva Herzigova and those sort of stories. They’re memorable stories, and you say why? Maybe because it’s not just about fashion. It’s because it’s a moment of the time." She elaborated in an interview with Self Service:

Ezra [Self Service]: Your early collaborations with Mario Testino were quite provocative in a certain way!
Carine: I think that in the beginning of my love duo with Mario, we did a few series that really disturbed people.
Ezra: Such as some of the stories you did with him in The Face?
Carine: Yes, for example, and I think that we had a lot of humor. We were talking about the problem of the moment, which was mad cow disease.
Ezra: And the other one on royalty.
Carine: I think you need humor, there is not a lot of it in photos, and it's very hard to put humor in photos.

And yet this amazing editrix continues to present that eclectic and unexpected sense of humor in so many of her classic editorials. I have added three more stories from The Face to the photo gallery, notice how the sharp chic of black and white pervades Carine's early work...

“Yves Gauche”
The Face, July 1996
The two films currently being made about the legendary Studio 54 nightclub are only the start of it. Hail the spirit of the original Bianca.
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Models: Astrid Munoz, Gregory, and Samuel
Photographer: Mario Testino

"Naughty Parisian Maid"
The Face, December 1997
When Madame's away, her clothes come out to play...
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Model: Ehrinn Cummings
Photographer: Mario Testino

"Never Mind The Bollocks... Life's A Beach"
The Face, May 2000
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Photographer: Mario Testino

The Face editorial images © 1996, 1997, 2000 The Face. All Rights Reserved.