CR Fashion Book: Dance with the Wind

CR Fashion Book: Dance with the Wind
By Dara Block

What is not to love about the spring issue of CR Fashion Book? The second publication is dedicated to the theme of dance and each editorial is a stunning combination of movement, fluidity, and spring 2013 fashion. It is difficult to pick a favorite layout because each one is so special and unique in its own artistic way, but if I had to choose one that captures my eye it would be "Dance With The Wind" photographed by Brigitte Niedermair. I was so glad to see that Carine Roitfeld chose Brigitte Niedermair again for the spring issue. I am still mesmerized by her "How Do Hue Do?" editorial from 2012... she certainly took creepy-chic to the next level with all those dynamic wigs and fall fashion. It's no surprise that in this issue Carine amps it up again by incorporating more cutting edge visual style. With all that said, let's take a look inside the pages of this gorgeous layout! 

The first image in the editorial features a backshot of model Sui He wearing a silk kimono and vintage obi from the Kimono House. I love the overall Japanese feel and that added element of her hair flowing in the wind. It looks as if nature itself is choreographing a dance with her hair. This is not your literal interpretation of dance, which I find so fascinating!

The next image features Sui He again and also model Soo Joo. This time, they are both dressed in Louis Vuitton. I love the way in which their bodies blend into each other. They look so unified and statuesque in their white ensembles and I love how Brigitte Niedermair captured their hair. There is so much fluidity and motion with their long tresses... looking very much like a dance, itself!

The following image features model Soo Joo once again, this time in a transparent Rick Owens dress and Jen Kao shoes. I love the body language she is giving to the camera and the way her hair looks as if it is taking over her body. There is some kind of agony and ecstasy with this image almost reminding me of choreographer Pina Bausch. I am not sure if Brigitte Niedermair was inspired by her dance style, but I can totally see a connection. Either way, I so appreciate how painfully-chic this looks.

What I admire most about Brigitte Niedermair is that she is able to find such strange beauty in the most mundane, much like this image. I love the way in which those hands are placed. It almost looks as if they are about to perform a dance. Perhaps, some kind of hand ballet. Visually, I love the angle at which this image is photographed and let's not forget that striking Dior ring. This is pure obscure-elegance, something at which Brigitte Niedermair excels!

Yet again, we see Soo Joo and Sui He modeling together. This time they are both camouflaged together in black. Soo Joo is wearing Hermès and Sui He is adorned in a black kimono from the Kimono House. I so love the way in which their bodies morph together and that stark contrast of their blonde and black hair. There is a painterly quality to this image and I love the dark ethereal aspect of it all. It's very noir, with a Japanese edge!

The following image is my favorite from the editorial. Soo Joo and Sui He virtually melt into each with their angelic hair. I can't help but be in awe of the fluidity of their locks. This is double-vision at its best… it's very rare to see such an image that looks so haunting and breathtaking at the same time. For some reason, it also reminds me of Madonna's 1998 Nothing Really Matters video. Perhaps, it has something to do with the overall Japanese look and the ebb and flow of this editorial, especially this image. Yes, it is a strange connection, but I see some striking similarities.

I think it is quite interesting how the editorial almost ends the way it started. Once more, we see Sui Hee in that very same kimono with her dazzling hair flowing, except this time, she has an elegant pair of hands grasping her around her neck. What that signifies will most likely remain a mystery, but I love the transcendental aspect of this photo... so mysteriously chic!

In general, I appreciate how this is not your literal interpretation of dance, but more about the forces of nature with spring fashion and Japanese culture. I am not sure what goes on inside Brigitte Niedermair's head, but I like the imagination and feminine perspective that she brings to CR Fashion Book. I don't know about you, but I certainly feel like dressing up in a kimono, straightening my hair, and pressing that start button on that wind machine... love it when an editorial has that effect. Brava to Brigitte Niedermair and Carine Roitfeld, for yet another remarkable editorial, this one is a true classic!

connect with iwtbar  bloglovin  |  facebook  |  pinterest  |  tumblr  |  twitter

Editorial images © 2013 CR Fashion Book.

I Want To Be A Roitfeld: Year Four

Today we celebrate the anniversary of I Want To Be A Roitfeld, four amazing years with the Roitfeld family, Carine, Julia, and Vladimir, as well as their best-loveds. It has been a year filled with adventure and I love all of you for reading along, especially those of you that dare to comment, your words buoy me. I would like to thank all of the contributors to the site — the writers, the photographers, and the artists that share their incredible talents on these pages; in particular, my heartfelt thanks to my wonderful IWTBAR team for their awesome contributions and for being the source of constant inspiration: Kate Ringo Suzuki, Dara Block, Bernie Rothschild, Renee Hernandez, Jessica Eritou, and Montse Ocejo. Most special thanks to my perfect beau, Michael, je t'aime, with special recognition to Walter and Sweet Pea…

Merci mille fois for reading IWTBAR — you are the best.

xx
Kellina

Joyeux anniversaire, ma geai bleue.

connect with iwtbar  bloglovin | facebook | pinterest | tumblr | twitter

Roitfeld family photographs courtesy of Fashion Spot. Collage by Kellina de Boer.

Carine On The Collections: The Animal Nursery

Carine On The Collections: The Animal Nursery
By Kristin Sekora

During her decade as editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld didn’t so much report fashion as blow it out of a gun at the reader, flashing crotches and breasts and famously having a model deep-throat a squid while holding a side of beef between her legs. Where then is she to land on the much tamer shores of Harper’s Bazaar? Even the GLOBAL Harper’s Bazaar? This remains to be seen.

In “The Animal Nursery” in the May issue, Carine emerges not with anything deep down a model’s throat but with her tongue deeply in her cheek, and very good and cheeky it is. The editorial is a funny “Models Without Borders: ‘We’ve got to save these baby animals even though we’re wearing million dollar clothes and we’re famous!’"

It is not a coincidence that the models are Ethiopian, Swedish, Korean, Russian, and American, just like a real group of Médecins Sans Frontières. The 17-page spread, lushly photographed by Sebastian Faena and edited by Michaela Dosamantes, both of whom work with Carine on CR Fashion Book, takes place in an ersatz tropical locale where the five beauties, all wonderfully coifed and made-up and manicured, hold delightful baby tigers, monkeys, and one tiny, adorable ocelot. They sit in director’s chairs surrounded by white canvas tents with large red crosses on them. In one scene (and, as is always the case with Carine Roitfeld, it is a “scene,” not a photo), Soo Joo Park, in a face mask and a nurse’s cap with a “V” (for “Louis Vuitton”?) on it, looks down in worry as Senait Gidey, also in a face mask, marches with determination as if to say, “Make way, we must get this baby ocelot to surgery immediately or she will die!”

There are other telling details that make it all the more funny, like the “waders” that Kate, Senait, and Soo Joo wear, almost like hazmat suits, but if you follow the credits you will find they are fishing gear. Or the Birkenstocks, which are not exactly jungle wear. And the animals! They play with the stethoscopes, climb into the wagons, or cuddle together just like, well, just like baby monkeys!

Carine Roitfeld knows how to make drama out of fashion but we start to notice that our girl is playing a game with us here, too, maybe not as in-our-faces as with her Vogue Paris, but something is going on while we are enjoying the sport… The tiger is being held in the arms of a woman wearing a tiger-printed shirt and the baby monkeys are wearing tiger- and zebra-striped diapers! A model wears a giraffe-printed coat by Burberry and a python-printed blouse.

Carine is famous for the pro-fur editorial “Reality Show” that she styled herself for Vogue Paris in August 2008, but she certainly is not in favor of using baby tiger or ocelot fur, which is illegal. And she would not have had the backing of the various wildlife preserves where the editorial was shot if she were insensitive to endangered species. It appears that all the “fur” fashion here is faux. I think Carine Roitfeld may be playing with the PETA crowd again, a kind of subterranean message, a repeat “gotcha,” only this time showing them, “Look, I get to play with all the tiger fur I want!” But here she is in tandem with the groups that preserve endangered species.

The clothes are extraordinary, particularly one dress by Dolce & Gabbana, you could picture Carine in this, it is the epitome of the pair’s combination of femininity with an edge: tweed with figure-skimming lace down the front, accessorized of course by the exquisite baby ocelot. Another dream item is a tawny faux-fur blouson and skirt by Reed Krakoff, a designer whose work I just discovered and who I really love, worn by Irina Shayk, whose rubber boot is being attacked by a playful baby tiger. A further hit is a wonderful outfit from Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci, which looks like appliquéd lace and cotton. (Carine Roitfeld wore a Bambi Givenchy top with “Pop-Pois” net pants to the Met Gala.)

“The Animal Nursery” is a move on Carine’s part to bring her dramatic element to the Harper’s Bazaar fashion scene. As a first step it is refreshing and delightful but still tentative. It definitely made me want to buy Harper’s Bazaar. With such an iconic member of their editorial staff, I cannot resist. I await further work on the editorial front. And the day when Carine Roitfeld once again comes out guns blazing!

connect with iwtbar  bloglovin | facebook | pinterest | tumblr | twitter

"Carine Roitfeld on the Collections: The Animal Nursery" images © 2013 Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Vogue Paris April 2001: Pose Combat

Vogue Paris April 2001: Pose Combat
By Renee Hernandez

If there is one style that has wielded incredible influence, I would have to say it is the combat chic look. Its claim to fashion fame came from the babes of the 1960s like Loretta Swit as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in M*A*S*H and Jane Fonda photographed in US army surplus clothing. Then in the 80s Michael Jackson took it over-the-top with his custom made, bedecked military jackets. From utilitarian to glam, it’s a style that is constantly evolving.

Somewhere in the midst of that spectrum is the editorial "Pose Combat" from April 2001 Vogue Paris. It is everything combat chic. Stylist Anastasia Barbieri gives us all the classics: camouflage colors, cargo and parachute pants, aviator glasses, and all-in-one flying suits. Her styling shows how to feminize the combat look by using sleek sexy pumps, snug-fitting tanks, gold military dog tags, and leather corsets. Models Erin Wasson and Eleonora Bosé rock short, slicked back hair with nothing more than smudged black eyeliner for a pure sexy-cool look. I don’t really want to imagine photographer Terry Richardson behind the scenes directing this photo shoot but I do love the simple yet aggressive quality to these images.

More from Vogue Paris April 2001

Vogue Paris April 2001: Bande A Part
By Jessica Eritou

Vogue Paris April 2001: Berlin
By Dara Block

Vogue Paris April 2001: Tentation Rebelle
By Kellina de Boer

Vogue Paris April 2001 Translation: Initiales B.C.
By Kellina de Boer

connect with iwtbar bloglovin | facebook | pinterest | tumblr | twitter

Vogue Paris editorial images © 2001 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

Introducing… Montse Ocejo, Contributing Editor

I am thrilled to announce the newest member of the team here at I Want To Be A Roitfeld… Montse Ocejo, contributing editor! Montse is a loyal reader of IWTBAR and her enthusiasm for the Roitfeld family, especially Julia, is contagious. I am delighted that she will now be sharing her thoughts with all of us through these pages. Please take a moment to join me in warmly welcoming Montse!

Montse Ocejo
Contributing Editor

Hello, my name is Montse, I live in Mexico, I am an art therapist and longtime reader of this lovely blog so I am very excited and grateful to contribute. When I grew up I learnt to play the piano and my teacher introduced me to French music and film, my favorite film is A Man and a Woman by Claude Lelouch and my favorite composer is Francis Lai.

One of my biggest passions is photography, I love taking pictures of my friends and my family. I collect vintage photos, antiques, clothes, hats, and toys, I like going to bazaars looking for new things for my collection.

My biggest treasure is a Tiffany & Co's heart, a gift from my father, and my favorite piece of clothing is a vintage Chanel blouse. My fashion icons are Julia Restoin-Roitfeld and Françoise Hardy. Right now I can't stop listening to Lana del Rey and I have a degree in Psychology.

Thank you so much and I hope you like my posts. Thanks to the lovely Kellina.

connect with iwtbar  bloglovin | facebook | pinterest | tumblr | twitter

Montse Ocejo photograph © 2013 Montse Ocejo. All Rights Reserved.