Review: Vogue Paris February 2011 Issue

Special thanks to Milla from the glamorous blog Not Just Another Milla for sharing her thoughts with us regarding Carine Roitfeld's penultimate issue of Vogue Paris in February. It is dreadful to think that we are down to the second to last glossy version of Carine's vision to publish under the auspices of the audacious magazine but so 'tis; I weep for the future. In the meantime, enjoy it while you can...

Let’s just start off with a piece of honesty here: Lara may be on the cover but Daria owns this issue! Not only is she featured heavily in the editorials, she’s in every other campaign from Salvatore Ferragamo to Céline to Liberty. I never really cared for her look until recently, but she seems to have a new-found confidence about her. Speaking of campaigns, is it just me or is this issue full of ads? Enough already, this isn’t Vogue US people!!

I’m not really the sentimental type, but seeing Madame Roitfeld’s name above ‘Redactrice en chef’ for the second to last time made me wonder about all the changes ahead. I haven’t noticed any reference to Carine’s departure in the magazine, did I miss it? I found her ‘Edito’ lacking all personality, which leads me to wonder if she’s already gone. It’s pretty hard to stay focused on something you know is no longer ‘yours’…

...En Vogue 'Soleils de nuit’ has captivated my every thought. Now this is the Vogue Paris I know and adore: understated glamour, sophistication, and pure sensuality. Photographed by Sharif Hamza and styled by Geraldine Sanglio, model Barbara intrigues us all whilst running around Paris in gold Paul & Joe, black silk Guy Laroche, burgundy Cerruti and a red silk dress from Escada so perfect, it’s worth spending half the rent for. Shhh, let’s not mention such stuff to my husband…

Melanie Huynh should have had a chat with this young woman before publishing 'Miss Vogue' and dedicating it to 'jeune filles en Vogue'. This editorial is rather punky, which doesn’t work for me. Skipped it. Rather teen-mag styling, in my humble opinion. Very clean photography though. It’s worth noting that 'Une Fille Une Style' does not feature in this month’s issue.

It wouldn’t really be Vogue Paris without a little nudity, would it? Celebrating the 90th birthday of Gucci, Mario Sorrenti photographs a very beautiful model (Is it Arizona Muse??) wearing nothing but a few Gucci accessories. Playing with the lighting, we see just enough to know she’s nude but not enough to distract us from the luxury goods. Those Voguies are smart peeps!

In one of the largest editorials I’ve ever seen (65 pages!) the so-called ‘it-models’ — Lara, Daria, Natasha, Freja, Daphne, Saskia, Joan, Sasha and Arizona — parade around looking like they’ve been in a paint ball fight in 'Et Vogue, l‘été 2011'! This feature is styled by soon-to-be editor-in-chef Emmanuelle Alt, Jane How, and Carine. I don’t know much about Jane How, but I can categorically say that the woman likes colour! Carine’s styling was a bit hit and miss I’m afraid to say. We start with Lara in what is simply an ugly black skirt and top designed by Azzedine Alaïa and it doesn’t really improve from there...

Fortunately, Carine’s 'Corps en extension' breaks up the mammoth editorial and offers me a moment to pause and reflect on where my Carine has gone and with the turn of the page, all is forgotten: she’s back! Lara greets us with an intense stare and despite wearing an array of bold, silk flower-printed John Galliano and an err… feather boa, it is her face which stands out. I can’t say the styling for Oscar de la Renta, Dolce & Gabbana or Marc Jacobs is to my taste, but they scream 'Carine'. That said, by the time I’d reached the end of the issue, I was rather bored of Lara. The only Carine piece that really works for me is Lara in Giorgio Armani, which is sublime: très Parisienne, très chic, très Vogue and most of all, très Carine!

From swimming pools to fishing boats to the studio, the models are decked out in bold, bright high-fashion ensembles but it is Daria (completely styled by Madame Alt) who caught my eye, wearing everything from OTT Roberto Cavalli to silk McQueen to I-need-this-now DSquared2. She completely holds your focus, exudes confidence and sensuality, and the DSquared2 photograph really is something. The Balmain look makes me smile because it’s basically Emmanuelle. This is how she dresses and she knows how to work this look. Perfection! Like many people, I paid more attention to the model and the clothes than the stylist and photographer. Since Carine announced her departure, I’ve been watching Emmanuelle’s work like a hawk and this I like. I like a lot.

Following the December/January collaboration between Mr Tom Ford and Madame Carine Roitfeld, AKA the best issue of 2010, was always going to be hard but despite the colour intervention, this issue really lacks something. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Eagerly awaiting March’s issue and am, naively perhaps, hoping to find Carine on the cover of her last Vogue. Like I always say, a woman can only dream…

Vogue Paris editorial images © 2011 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

Roitfeld And Battaglia: Milan Fashion Week Fall 2011

Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld and Giovanna Battaglia have been spotted in Milan viewing the menswear collections for Fashion Week and they look fabulous! The outfit above featuring the leopard skirt is one of my all time favorite combinations by Giovanna, every detail is perfect. She is so beautiful — those amazing eyes — and the colors complement her exquisitely. I also like how the Suno skirt, the gorgeous green leather jacket, and the details of her accessories all work together in the outfit below to accentuate her already tiny waist, pure genius. For more fun, my lovely friend Gala has posted a collection of photos from Giovanna's modeling days with Dolce & Gabbana, she is one seriously beautiful woman. Grazie, Gala! As for the fashion choices made by Vladimir, monsieur had yet to shed his outerwear so not much to say beyond cute hat...

Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld photograph © 2011 Boheme Noir. All Rights Reserved.
Giovanna Battaglia photographs courtesy of Stockholm Street Style and Team Peter Stigter.

Vogue Paris February 2011: Lara Stone

Heralding the return of spring, Lara Stone is colorful in a Gucci dress and makeup to match for the cover of the February 2011 issue of Vogue Paris shot by Mario Sorrenti. The headlines promise to reveal beauty tips for sublime skin, a glimpse of the private life of Colin Firth, and Special Collections: 65 looks for summer. Note that the "Une Fille Un Style" section does not appear in this issue, instead we have a new feature titled "Miss Vogue." I hope this change is not permanent, UFUS is always my favorite part of the magazine. In any event, I simply cannot wait to see what Carine Roitfeld has in store for her next to last issue...

Vogue Paris February 2011 issue cover image © 2011 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.

Giovanna Battaglia For Eddie Borgo

Jewelry designer Eddie Borgo has developed an interesting concept to publicize his work; rather than relying on a traditional model for a lookbook, he selects an editor or stylist to model his line for a poster each season. For his Spring/Summer 2011 collection, Borgo has chosen Giovanna Battaglia as the face.

"Giovanna was very much in my head when I was designing the spring collection,” explained Borgo. “She loves jewelry and is not afraid to pile it on. She also, in her own way, is an example of high-end meets street.” Inspired by icons of fetishism, Borgo's latest collection artistically incorporates bondage cuffs, corsets, and padlocks in a manner that seems at once scary yet ladylike. Naturally Giovanna is also a fan of the collection: “Each piece is so amazingly done. You don’t even think about the dark side of it.”

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld provided art direction for the poster, Paul Maffi shot the exquisite black and white photographs, and Borgo's love interest, Keegan Singh, styled the shoot. Last season Borgo chose Kate Lanphear, style director for ELLE, to represent his line and previous collections have been modeled by Lauren Santo Domingo and Vanessa Traina.

Giovanna Battaglia photograph © 2011 Eddie Borgo. All Rights Reserved.

Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld In Self Service

Appearing in issue no. 8 of Self Service are these adorable photographs of young Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld. As fate would have it, he was styled by the next editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, Emmanuelle Alt, and photographed by Nathaniel Goldberg. The issue was published in 1998; according to my calculations Vladimir would have been 14 years old at the time though he looks even younger. Must be the Roitfeld genes...

Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld photographs © 1998 Self Service. All Rights Reserved.