In the new issue of V Magazine, Carine Roitfeld shares the promotional images from her "first and only modeling composites" which are featured here. Carine reflects on her modeling days which inspired her editorial "Carine's Sweet 16" for V, “The English photographer Tony Kent discovered me in the street in Paris when I was 16 and took me to Model Promotions, Elite Paris’s teenage division. After one season I went to London and signed with Bobton’s. These are my first and only modeling composites. On the far left I’m wearing a skirt that my mother made from souleiado, a very traditional French fabric used for napkins and table linens.”
Especially noteworthy are Carine Roitfeld's measurements, listed in both French and English (and likely unchanged):
- Height 5'7½" (Hauteur 1.71)
- Bust 32¾" (Poitrine 83)
- Waist 23¾" (Taille 60)
- Hips 34¾" (Hanches 88)
- Shoes 4 (Chaussures 37)
- Hair Brown (Cheveux Bruns)
- Eyes Green (Yeux Verts)
As for the Disney theme of "Carine's Sweet 16," La Roitfeld confides, "I was obsessed with Mickey and Minnie Mouse… There was a shop on Rue de Canettes in the 6th called Western House that imported everything from America, and I found my Disney pieces there." In one shot, Carine has dressed the model, Dalianah Akerion, in her own tunic as well as using her own tights with polka dots throughout. Sebastian Faena photographed the images of the current collection featured in "Carine's Sweet 16."
I love Carine Roitfeld's reflections on her style and her inspiration behind each shot as told in the captions:
“Back then I would pluck my eyebrows a lot, which I now think is very démodé. But I was lucky because for many girls they never grow back. At the same moment, I was spending a lot of time in the Indian shops, where I discovered raspberry extract and wore it as a fragrance. It was also in those shops that I first found black kohl eyeliner, which I’ve worn ever since.”
“At this point I was listening to David Bowie nonstop. (I learned English listening to “Life On Mars?”) Hair was huge in the theater and it influenced me a lot. My mood was very hippie — I would wear a lot of long scarves and ankle boots in multipattern patchwork, which I bought in London. As a teenager back then you could shop in two places: the Paris flea market or in London. There was no fashion for teens and no High Street. I never aspired to wear big labels the way young people might today. I thought high fashion and fashion magazines were for old ladies and not me.”
“For a look like this I was inspired by Jean Bouquin, a big bohemian designer of the time. I would mix a vintage Romanian blouse with leather Tyrolean shorts. Both came from the flea market. The denim hat with stars came from Sisley, a label that’s still around today. I would be dressed like this when Emanuel de la Fressange, brother of Inès, would come around on his Solex motorcycle to take me to Castel, a popular nightclub. It was there that I met the other Sisley, my partner and the father of my two children.”
“I would wear this on the metro as a day look, which today would be impossible because you’d be chased down. I was very skinny, so I bought my tops at children’s stores for very cheap. In France no one knew what a lunch box was because no one took their lunch to work. Mine was from Walt Disney and I wore it everywhere because I was obsessed with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. There was a shop on Rue de Canettes in the 6th called Western House that imported everything from America, and I found my Disney pieces there.”
“I’ve always loved tights with polka dots and very feminine shoes. It’s funny because looking at this picture I realize my look really hasn’t changed so much. This is something I would very much wear even today.”
“My boots came from Carnaby Street and would have a little psychedelic detail, like a lightning bolt, which always reminded me of Ziggy Stardust. Coats for girls my age were never made in bright colors, so I would always wear navy blue or dark green. When I later worked at French ELLE I started wearing black, under the influence of three designers: Alaïa, Yohji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons.”
“Crossing my legs like this was my signature. My clothes were usually very small and very tight, and I would go to lycée looking like this. The school was co-ed, so there were no dress codes, which I found very liberating.”
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V Magazine editorial images styled by Carine Roitfeld © 2013 V Magazine, LLC. Carine Roitfeld in St. Tropez photo © 2007 by Carine Roitfeld. Other Carine Roitfeld photos © 2013 Condé Nast, Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.