Vogue Paris: La Fee Toxique

Throughout the month of March, the IWTBAR team will explore Carine Roitfeld's farewell issue of Vogue Paris from March 2011. From "Cœur a Corps Perdu," Carine's absurdly humorous soft porn tribute to her successor by way of the film Emmanuelle, to the lively and surreal "Audace Manifeste" as styled by Giovanna Battaglia, the last issue of Vogue Paris edited by Carine Roitfeld never fails to inspire.

To lead off the exploration, we begin with a look at "La Fée Toxique," a brilliant decision by Carine to feature Victoire de Castellane in her last Vogue Paris at the same time that the revolutionary jewelry designer was launching her first solo exhibit, Fleurs d’excès, at Galerie Gagosian Paris.

Styled by Olivier Lalanne and shot by Juergen Teller, "La Fée Toxique" displays the surreal gems from Victoire de Castellane's exquisite ten-piece Fleurs d’excès collection. In a strange twist, her precious pieces are named for illegal narcotics although she herself abstains: Extasium Ethero Coïtus, Opium Velourosa Purpa, Acidae Lili Pervertus, Quo Caïnus Magic Disco, L. Es Déliriuma Flash, Cana Bisextem Now, Héroïna Romanticam Dolorosa, Amanita Santane Diabolus, Crac Bouminalum, and Crystalucinea Metha Agressiva. The shoot is set in the colorful apartment of de Castellane and in the background we can see the childhood watercolor paintings of her husband, Thomas Lenthal.

De Castellane was destined to collaborate with Chanel, having being raised by her uncle, who happened to be one of Karl Lagerfeld's principal assistants. After 14 years spent overseeing Chanel's costume jewelry designs, inspiring the collections, and even walking the runway at times, de Castellane became creative director of Christian Dior fine jewelry in 1998 where she continues to create today.

In 2006, Victoire de Castellane was chosen by Sofia Coppola to play a small part in her film Marie Antoinette and in 2007, the talented jewelry designer was awarded the Légion d’Honneur, clearly the epitome of a Parisienne original. If you would like to learn more about the work of de Castellane, I recommend Dior Joaillerie and Victoire de Castellane, Fleurs d’excès.

More from Vogue Paris March 2011

Vogue Paris March 2011: Audace Manifeste
By Dara Block

Vogue Paris March 2011: Body Secrets
By Bernie Rothschild

Vogue Paris March 2011: Coeur À Corps Perdu
By Kate Ringo Suzuki

Vogue Paris March 2011: Expression Figurative
By Jessica Eritou

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

CR Fashion Book Issue 2 Launch Party

Carine Roitfeld celebrated her second issue of CR Fashion Book with a lavish soirée in the salons of the Shangri-La Hotel in Paris. As the theme for the issue is dance, you might imagine the evening would focus on dancing… A sampling of guests were asked to pick a favorite dance: Jessica Chastain loves to jitterbug, Karl Lagerfeld likes to tango, Riccardo Tisci prefers to salsa, and Carine Roitfeld adores ballet, which was reflected in the evening's entertainment. The principal ballerina for the Paris Opera, Marie-Agnès Gillot, performed with Vincent Chaillet to the song "O mio babbino caro." Chaillet then shared the first dance of the evening with Carine Roitfeld.

The lengthy star-studded list of guests that turned out in support of CR Fashion Book included Christian Restoin, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Jessica Alba, Fabien Baron, Giovanna Battaglia, Sara Battaglia, Mariacarla Boscono, Hamish Bowles, Adrien Brody, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Claire Courtin-Clarins, Saskia de Brauw, Louis-Marie de Castelbajac, Victoire de Castellane, Delfina Delettrz, Alice Dellal, Anna Dello Russo, Peter Dundas, Alber Elbaz, Isabeli Fontana, Magdalena Frackowiak, Stephen Gan, Daphne Groenveld, Jamie Hince, Kate Moss, Karlie Kloss, Hannelore Knuts, Karolina Kurkova, Johan Lindeberg, Margherita Missoni, Alison Mosshart, Arizona Muse, Gaspar Noé, Tom Pecheux, Pier Paolo Piccioli, Gareth Pugh, Gaia Repossi, Alexandra Richards, Francesco Russo, Francesco Scognamiglio, Ulyana Sergeenko, Amanda Seyfried, Caroline Sieber, Joan Smalls, Mario Sorrenti, Jessica Stam, Olivier Theyskens, Riccardo Tisci, Anthony Vaccarello, Giambattista Valli, Harley Viera-Newton, Edita Vilkeviciute, Ellen von Unwerth, Alexander Wang, Kanye West, and Olivier Zahm.

To see more of the soirée, view the video published by Mercedes-Benz, a staunch supporter of CR Fashion Book and the sponsor for the Parisian launch.

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Carine Roitfeld et al photographs courtesy of fashionguru.com.cn, buro247.ru, nextmodels.com, socialitelife.com, crfashionbook.com, purple.fr

Carine Roitfeld At Paris Fashion Week

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Carine Roitfeld et al photographs courtesy of Condé Nast, harpersbazaar.com, Getty Images, huffingtonpost.com, buro247.ru, leeoliveira.com, stylebistro.com, forum.purseblog.com.

Vogue Paris February 2003: Gang Lang

Imagine skimming the pages of the February 2003 issue of Vogue Paris and spying Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld winking at you from behind a pirate's eye patch.... Vlad appears in the issue as part of a black-and-white spread titled "Gang Lang." Styled by Olivier Lalanne and shot by Antony Ward, the editorial focuses on Helmut Lang's Spring/Summer 2003 collection along with an interview by the designer.

I am intrigued by the choice of models for "Gang Lang." The lineup begins with Claire Dhelens, an editor for Vogue Paris. Next is model Natalie followed by Peter Kruder, the DJ for Helmut Lang's shows during this period. Beside him is Jerry Gorovoy, assistant to the artist Louise Bourgeois. Turning the page we see artist Jenny Holzer, model Amanda Moore, student Vladimir Restoin (he was 18 years old at the time) and models Jake Boyle and Stella Tennant. Posed on the page opposite them are model Anne V., ex-model Cordula, and her son and student, Ben.

My favorite passage from the interview: "A la sortie de son dernier défilé présenté à Paris, une journaliste notait qu'une femme qui porte du Helmut Lang a l'air intelligente. «J'essaie de ne pas leur donner l'air stupides» commente Helmut Lang," or in English, "At the end of his last show presented in Paris, a journalist noted that a woman who wears Helmut Lang has an intelligent air. 'I try not to give them a stupid air,' said Helmut Lang."

More from Vogue Paris February 2003

Vogue Paris February 2003: Carine. Emmanuelle. Anastasia. Marie-Amélie.
By Kellina de Boer

Vogue Paris February 2003: La Joueuse... Aux Jambes Nues
By Dara Block

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Vogue Paris editorial images © 2003 Condé Nast.

CR Fashion Book: High On Rebellion

CR Fashion Book: High On Rebellion
By Jessica Eritou

Photographed by Jamie Morgan for the first issue of CR Fashion Book, the editorial “High on Rebellion” pleasantly unifies the juxtaposition and hard edged basics with subtle, feminine accents.

The first page features a motorcycle jacket from Calvin Klein which is the epitome of rebel iconographic style. The only caption features the words “Seeking peace, love, unity, respect” which could be an ode, or play on words with the raving community (P.L.U.R.) whom get a lot of negative insurgent reputations. Next is a tutu from Sansha. But it is not the combination of the two that sets this editorial right. In typical Carine Roitfield style, there is always a twist. The model is wearing a reinvented gas mask with floral accents inside and a delicate rose by the mouthpiece. Very subtly, this combination is quite the polarity without the yearning most stylists try when creating drama between two elements.

The next shot features Magda Laguinge in a fur skirt and jacket by Fendi, with natural makeup and hair. This can be an ode and the clash between beast and nature, with primitive elements mixed with her smelling the flower in hand. The shape of the jacket is exquisite, with the detailing on the sleeve and a peplum bottomed edge.

Jamie Hewlett, the comic book artist, co-creator of the band Gorillaz, and fashion designer, contributed a sketch to this editorial featuring his signature style and graphic hard edged sketches. When you view Hewlett's work, it is instantly recognizable. There's a new age soldier with tiny elements and odes to people like Jim Morrison. One could argue Hewlett is making his own political statement but since he adds quirky bits it could be considered satire at the same time.

Next the model is sporting a Nina Ricci sweater which almost gives an Isabel Marant, late 70s Missoni vibe, paired with a leather Kenzo jacket, again in military style with a KSI NYC hat. The composition of the shot is very bold and direct. The soft, luscious sweater parallels wonderfully with the rest of the styling in the outfit. Perhaps it is due to the open-knit stitching of the sweater which helps open up the body and gives the viewer a nice balance of concordance.

Magda is seen wearing a gorgeous Pucci dress holding a white flag, representing another military motif. The dress itself is dawned in detail but with almost an athletic presence to it. There is a great deal of wearability and effortlessness to Pucci and Carine Roitfeld captured this perfectly. The same tones and hues featured on the Pucci dress are followed with the last photo of Madga wearing the helmet (Ministry of Acquisitions) with the same floral colors and line. This is paired with a military coat from Max Mara.

Although this is a great start to Carine's work, I wish there could have been a third element added to this other than hard-edged clothing and symbolism meets feminine motif parallels. It is shot beguilingly, however, CR could have subsumed another perspective to this editorial that not already been done before.

More from CR Fashion Book Issue 1: Rebirth

CR Fashion Book: A Woman's Life
By Renee Hernandez

CR Fashion Book: Elsa
By Bernie Rothschild 

CR Fashion Book: Hush Little Baby, Don't You Cry
By Kate Ringo Suzuki

Inside the Pages of CR
By Dara Block

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Editorial images © 2012 CR Fashion Book.