Carine Roitfeld: Stylist

In 2007, Rizzoli published a fascinating book, Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion, which collects the work of sixteen legendary image makers as selected by Style.com, and of course Carine Roitfeld made this exclusive list. Browsing the lavish volume is a fashion education unto itself, with influential stylists such as Polly Mellen, Grace Coddington, Edward Enninful, Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, and Karl Templer sharing memorable collaborations and sources of inspiration via interviews with Sarah Mower. Among the talented photographers that collaborated on these iconic images are Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Bruce Weber, Steven Klein, and Juergen Teller. Raul Martinez provided the creative direction for Stylist and Anna Wintour penned the foreword, in which she admits that as a fashion sittings editor she was never particularly good, although she certainly recognizes and champions editors that are particularly good. Which of her most memorable works did Carine Roitfeld choose to share in Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion? I was hoping you would ask…

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

I love that Carine selected three images from her unforgettable editorial, "The Butcher," the work she considers her most compelling. Also notable, a print of the image above hangs in the home of art connoisseur Simon de Pury.

"Au Pérou, chez les Incas"
French Glamour, August 1993
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Model: Helena Christensen
Photographer: Mario Testino

This is one of the most famous of the Roitfeld/Testino collaborations for French Glamour, as well as personal: the location honors the photographer's Peruvian childhood and the model wore a Peruvian sweater belonging to the stylist's father. Trop mignon, non ?

"Néo-Moderne"
French Glamour, 1994
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Model: Nadja Auermann
Photographer: Mario Testino

This is the other most famous of the Roitfeld/Testino collaborations for French Glamour, again with a personal angle: the spread is shot in the néo-moderne apartment of Carine Roitfeld and Christian Restoin. Note also that the model lounges about wearing Gucci loafers, attracting the attention of Tom Ford and leading to one of the sexiest collaborations in fashion history.

Gucci by Tom Ford
Collection stills and ad campaign, 1995
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Photographer: Mario Testino

While Tom Ford is a talented designer and Mario Testino is an accomplished photographer, Carine Roitfeld must be credited with conducting the electricity that created the iconic Gucci look of 1995. As The New York Times observed at the time, "Imagine waking up one morning expecting Harriet Nelson to be making your breakfast and instead found Raquel Welch, circa 1968, beating the eggs."

"Corps & Lames"
Vogue Paris, February 2005
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Model: Gemma Ward
Photographer: Mario Testino

Gemma Ward is anything but innocent in "Corps & Lames," Carine's bizarrely beautiful homage to meat… and polka dots… and sheers… oh my…

Other material that Carine chose to share were images of herself as a young girl, with her family, with her Vogue Paris staff, and of her inspiration board, as well as the portrait below captured by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin in March 2003 for V Magazine.

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Carine Roitfeld editorial images © 2007 Rizzoli. 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.

Carine Roitfeld: H.R.H. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Carine Roitfeld joined forces with Mario Testino to create “H.R.H. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” for The Face and she talks about the inspiration behind this editorial: “When I see this English girl, I thought ‘She looks like Princess Anne.’ It’s a bit sad, because when we did this story, Diana was still alive; now it’s a bit trickier but at the time, we were thinking ‘Diana, Fergie — now it’s Anne’s time!’” It is actually a bit spooky, or bizarrely prescient… This “heartfelt tribute to the Princess Royal” by Roitfeld and Testino was published in July 1997, as were Testino’s portraits of Diana for Vanity Fair, widely considered the turning point of his career. Princess Diana passed away on 31 August 1997. Eery, I know. I love the stylist’s choices for the shoot, the clothing and accessories are brilliant, particularly the use of her own royal sash, vive Queen Carine.

• White hand-painted t-shirt by APC; black trousers by Vivienne Westwood; pearl necklace by Dary’s; crocodile handbag from Parisian flea market.
• Pink sleeveless chiffon blouse and check shirt by Martine Sitbon; diamond tiara, £2.5 million, by Real Jewelry By Gianni Versace; red sash stylist’s own.
• White chiffon shirt, black and white dogtooth trousers and beaded necklace by Christian Dior Haute Couture.
• White cotton shirt by Polo Sport; red check split skirt by Eric Bergere; pearl necklace by Dary’s.
• Dress and shoes by Helmut Lang; feather headdress by Philip Treacy for W< crocodile bag from Parisian flea market.
• Red shirt by Equipment; multicolored scarf by Yves Saint Laurent; riding hat by WH Gidden.

Also from 1997
"Chic" Visionaire #22
"Esprit Tribu" Jalouse No. 4
"The Butcher" The Face
"Naughty Parisian Maid" The Face

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The Face editorial images © 1997 The Face. All Rights Reserved.

Carine Roitfeld's Five Favorite Fashion Editorials

Carine Roitfeld sat for an interview with The Gentlewoman for their fourth issue, Autumn & Winter 2011, and I was fascinated by the list of Carine's top five fashion editorials, her very favorites among her impressive body of work. Of course she chose the stunners, provocation at its chicest outer limit. My favorite line from the interview: "Even if the socks are bad, it's not a problem." Visit The Gentlewoman to see more of the issue, available on newsstands now.

1. “The Butcher” 

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

“Shot during the meat crisis in Britain, this much-copied story was a turning point in my career. And I don’t even like meat!”

2. "Chic"

Visionaire #22, 1997
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Model: Kim Iglinsky
Photographer: Mario Testino

“I’d been in a car accident and had to wear a neck brace, so Mario suggested that we use it in the shoot. We had the model on a beautiful bicycle because I think a girl on a bike is very sexy. She was in Gucci heels, a shirt, a short skirt and the neck brace with some jewelry over it — very chic.” Note also that Mario Testino served as guest editor for this issue.

3. “Corps & Lames”

Vogue Paris, February 2005
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Model: Gemma Ward
Photographer: Mario Testino

“We had Gemma Ward playing with scissors and cutting the hair of a Barbie doll. This is something I used to do as a child — all little girls like to cut their Barbies’ hair, no?” The model turns the scissors on her own lashes as well; in marring our ideal of the perfect long lashes, her act seems quite perverse.

4. “Naughty Parisian Maid” 

The Face, December 1997
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Model: Ehrinn Cummings
Photographer: Mario Testino

“I love the contrast between the model’s very chic look and her manic behavior. We had her under a glass table, polishing it with a Louis Vuitton scarf and even cleaning the stove with a cotton bud while wearing Saint Laurent."

5. “Festin”

Vogue Paris, October 2010
Stylist: Carine Roitfeld
Model: Crystal Renn
Photographer: Terry Richardson

“A very provocative shoot, this was inspired by one of my favorite films, La Grande Bouffe. The smell of the squid was so strong the hairdresser fainted.”

Carine Roitfeld in The Gentlewoman image courtesy of lesmads.de. Editorial images © 2005, 2010 Condé Nast; © 1997 Visionaire Publishing, LLC. 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.