Julia Restoin-Roitfeld: Debutante

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld was 21 years old when she made her stunning debut at Le Bal des Débutantes which takes place annually at Hôtel de Crillon. Mademoiselle Julia was presented to society wearing a leopard print dress by Versace and accompanied by Antoine de Moussac, also of France. I think her departure from the traditional demure white gown works brilliantly; note as well that she opted for a bunch of flowers behind one ear rather than the clichéd tiara. What do you think of Julia's debutante look?

Below is a list of the young women that descended the staircase along with Julia in 2001 with details for each of the debutantes including her country of origin, her escort, his country of origin, and the designer of her gown for the ball. Read The Story of the Ball on the official web site for more about the evolution of this fascinating tradition over the years.

Les "Nouvelles Débutantes" 2001
et leurs Cavaliers 
et leurs Maisons de Couture

Barbara Berlusconi, Italy
SAS Prince Dimitri della Torre e Tasso, Italy
Chanel

Laurence de Bourbon-Busset, France
Antoine de Vulpillières, France
Pierre Balmain

SAS Princesse Paola Orleans e Bragança Sapieha, Brazil
Paul de Ponton d'Amécourt, France
Gaultier Paris

Gwenolée de Carmoy, France
Tristan de Silguy, France
Pierre Cardin

Laxmi Dalamal, India
Bharat Singh, India
Lecoanet Hemant

Comtesse Marie-Catherine Douglas, Germany
Charles de Chabaneix, France
Hanae Mori

Kaya Endo, Japan
Gonzague Requillart, France
Louis Feraud

Pilar Fernandez-Susino, Spain
Fernando Ramos de Lucas, Spain
Jean-Louis Scherrer

Amanda Hearst, United States
Charles d'Arcy Irvine, Ireland
Carolina Herrera

Lydia Hearst-Shaw, United States
Matthew Armstrong, United States
Thierry Mugler

Aleksandra Kwasniewska, Poland
Alexis de Béchade, France
Ewa Minge

Mélanie Mallet, France
Geoffroy de Boissieu, France
Yves Saint Laurent

Amélie de Mony-Pajol, France
Adrien de Mony-Pajol, France
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

Julie-Chloé Mougeolle, France
Mathieu Bellahsen, France
Seredin & Vassillev

Violet Naylor-Leyland, United Kingdom
Tom Naylor-Leyland, United Kingdom
Bruce Oldfield

Cleo Pakenham, United Kingdom
David Hogan Hern, United Kingdom
Neil Cunningham

Carolina Partheni-Angelopoulos, Greece
Paul Charles Ricard, France
Givenchy

Olivia Peiretti-Paradisi, Monaco
Victor Leclercq, Monaco
Franck Sorbier

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, France
Antoine de Moussac, France
Versace

Marquise Laura Serra, Italy
Charles de Nervaux, France
Valentino

Sarah Taylor, United Kingdom
Johnny Weinberg, United Kingdom
Vivienne Westwood

Vanessa Traina, United States
Olivier de la Ferrière, France
Christian Dior

Victoria Traina, United States
Duarte Eca de Queiroz Correira de Campos, Portugal
Christian Lacroix

Marie de Villepin, France
Thomas Pallardy, France
Emanuel Ungaro

All of the debutantes are wearing jewelry provided by Mikimoto.

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld debutante photographs courtesy of lebal.fr and Fashion Spot

Roitfeld Swims With Sharks

Tee hee, I have to say that aleXsandro Palombo's most recent sketch of Carine Roitfeld has me absolutely in stitches. In the summer edition of Humor Chic, we see Carine navigating the choppy waters of the "Sea of Vogue" riding bareback atop a shark. Looks like she is ready to make mincemeat out of anyone that gets in her way...

Carine Roitfeld cover illustration © 2010 aleXsandro Palombo. All Rights Reserved.

Carine Roitfeld: Get The Look

As style.com reminds us, emulating the style of the inimitable Carine Roitfeld is essentially impossible but they do offer a few ideas as to "How to Get a Certain French Editor's Casual Summer Look." Visit their site and roll over the image to see what they suggest in order to imitate Carine's outfit. I do wish it were as simple as donning a pair of chic white jeans but alas I am a realist. Notice that for less than $7,000 you can own a signed pendant crafted by Salvador Dali which is actually a lot easier to keep clean than a pair of white jeans...

Carine Roitfeld image © 2010 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

Carine Roitfeld's Closet

Have you ever wanted to see inside the closet of Carine Roitfeld? Of course you have! Unfortunately in the photographs the doors to Carine's closet are closed so we must rely on the words of others for a description of the contents. As her daughter Julia Restoin-Roitfeld shares with us, “Her wardrobe's not so big, actually. She's very organised and it seems she has tons and tons of stuff, but she has her favourite pieces that she wears over and over. They become collector's pieces, then she mixes them with the new ones.” Her son Vladimir says, "Actually, my mum has never had a lot of clothes, and she has a tiny wardrobe. She knows exactly what she likes to wear. There's one long cupboard in her bedroom, and you never see shoes lying about anywhere else. I've got more clothes than she has."

We also have this detailed account from Vogue as they explore Carine Roitfeld's wardrobe:

By this stage, we're in her bedroom and she's about to throw open the first door in the 20-foot-long closet of hanging spaces, shelves, and shoe racks housed behind her bed. And here, laid out in fantastic order, is the complete story of a woman's fashion life and times—the teenybopper, the hippie, the LA rock chick, the international icon of unerring fashion sophistication. Inside door one: her city skirts, all narrow, knee-length, mainly black. "You see, they are all the same but not the same." Above are shelves devoted to piles of little nothing cashmere sweaters either in black or classic beige or jewel-colored for summer. Next door, the tops—sexy black slithers of things with tough details, all with the air of tshirts. "I've never been a punk, but this is what I like," she says pulling out zip-slashed tops by Gucci and McQueen, a studded Comme des Garçons tshirt, and a priceless vintage Sex Pistols NO FUTURE tshirt. Below are stacks and stacks of high-rise black stilettos from Manolo and Gucci, all spikes, ankle straps, a hint of S&M for everyday.

And then, here's the other side of Roitfeld, the jeans closet, her very own personal vintage collection, full of boot-legs, cords, tiny hipsters she's acquired nonstop since she was a teenager, in every beautiful washed-out color and texture from shredded Levi's to soft pink, beige, and khaki. "I like them completely destroyed," she says, fondly stroking their flanks. Farthest along is the LA/St Barth's/Morocco drawer, chock full of color, print, and fabric, for vacations and fashion shoots in hot places. "I'm very ethnic. I've been buying these muumuus, djellabas, peasant skirts since I was 20, when I had no money," she says."I give my personal trend to it—nothing to do with the seasons." And finally here we are with the hats, a rocking squashed pink straw Stetson, and the pièce de resistance: a black fur hat. Plonking it on her head so that only her dark eyes shine out beneath the fur she cries, "Me as a Russian girl!" All of a sudden, it is very now, very funny, and very, very her.

Photographs of Carine Roitfeld's bedroom/dressing room © 1996 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.
Carine Roitfeld photograph courtesy of art+commerce.

Vogue Paris August 2010 Editorials

The editorials I have seen so far indicate that Carine Roitfeld has styled the hell out of the August issue of Vogue Paris, I cannot wait to possess it... Here in an outtake from "L'hiver avant l'hiver" is Crystal Renn who I believe strongly resembles none other than Julia Restoin-Roitfeld. Curves are in so flaunt it if you've got it, mesdames et monsieurs. Sexy time! David Sims shot the sensual spread styled by Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt.

Also looking good: Isabeli Fontana in "L'hiver avant l'hiver" and Malgosia Bela in "Médailles du style" styled by Veronique Didry and photographed by Josh Olins. (Be sure to visit Anna Dello Russo's site for more gorgeous medals of style.) Available on newsstands now provided you live in the right neighborhood...

Oh yes, I almost forgot — the 64 designers featured in "L'hiver avant l'hiver" along with the models for each:

Prada, Freja Beha Erichsen
Dsquared2, Iselin Steiro
Jean Paul Gaultier, Joan Smalls
Calvin Klein, Daria Werbowy
Hermès, Isabeli Fontana
Giorgio Armani, Freja Beha Erichsen
Tommy Hilfiger, Daria Werbowy
Loewe, Crystal Renn
Marc Jacobs, Freja Beha Erichsen
Dries Van Noten, Daria Werbowy
Gianfranco Ferré, Frida Gustavsson
Valentino, Daria Werbowy
Etro, Isabeli Fontana
Max Mara, Joan Smalls
Louis Vuitton, Frida Gustavsson
Jil Sander, Freja Beha Erichsen
Diesel, Daria Werbowy
Rodarte, Frida Gustavsson
Burberry, Aline Weber
Hugo Boss, Isabeli Fontana
Rick Owens, Freja Beha Erichsen
Alexander McQueen, Crystal Renn
Chanel, Daria Werbowy
Chloé, Freja Beha Erichsen
Fendi, Iselin Steiro
Paul Smith, Iselin Steiro
Blumarine, Iselin Steiro
Oscar de la Renta, unknown
Balmain, Iselin Steiro
Dolce & Gabbana, Crystal Renn
Ralph Lauren, Daria Werbowy
Vivienne Westwood, Aline Weber
Stella McCartney, Daria Werbowy
Alaïa, Freja Beha Erichsen
Viktor & Rolf, Daria Werbowy
Isabel Marant, Isabeli Fontana
Gucci, Iselin Steiro
Comme des Garçons, Monika Jagaciak
Junya Watanabe, Freja Beha Erichsen
Yves Saint Laurent, Crystal Renn
Givenchy, Freja Beha Erichsen
Bottega Veneta, Frida Gustavsson
Lanvin, Isabeli Fontana
Versace, Daria Werbowy
Karl Lagerfeld, Crystal Renn
Alberta Ferretti, Crystal Renn
Donna Karan, Isabeli Fontana
Pucci, Frida Gustavsson
DVF, Freja Beha Erichsen
Salvatore Ferragamo, Isabeli Fontana
Emporio Armani, Daria Werbowy
Moschino, Iselin Steiro
Dior, Daria Werbowy
Miu Miu, Iselin Steiro
Céline, Freja Beha Erichsen
Michael Kors, Isabeli Fontana
Margiela, Crystal Renn
Nina Ricci, Isabeli Fontana
Sonia Rykiel, Daria Werbowy
Galliano, Aline Weber
Cavalli, Freja Beha Erichsen
Kenzo, Freja Beha Erichsen
Missoni, Aline Weber

Vogue Paris August 2010 editorial images © 2010 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.