Carine Roitfeld's Last Vogue Paris Party

This evening Carine Roitfeld hosted a private Vogue Paris party in honor of Gucci's creative director Frida Giannini at Hôtel de La Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville, the Parisian home of the Italian ambassador, His Excellency Giovanni Caracciolo di Vietri. Among the lovely guests were Stefano Accorsi, Jessica Alba, Gemma Arterton, Charlotte Casiraghi, Laetitia Casta, Laura Chiatti, Josephine De La Baume, Poppy Delevingne, Valeria Golino, Diane Kruger, Tali Lennox, Kate Moss, Karmen Pedaru, François Henri Pinault, Mark Ronson, Paolo Roversi, Maya Sansa, Caroline Sieber, Mario Testino, and Olivia Wilde. Anna Calvi provided the evening's entertainment. It is with extraordinary sadness that I write this on the occasion of Carine's last official party as editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, as Derek Blasberg tweets: "Carine will be missed. She knows how to throw a party..."

Jessica AlbaDiane KrugerCarine Roitfeld, Jessica Alba, and Diane Kruger photographs © 2011 Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

Update on mercredi 26 janvier 2011 by kellina

Courtesy of Hia Magazine here is another gorgeous photo of Carine Roitfeld with the guest of honor, Frida Giannini. See even more photographs from Carine's last Vogue Paris party at Les Mads.

Carine Roitfeld and Frida Giannini photograph courtesy of facebook.com/Hia.Magazine

Update on mercredi 26 janvier 2011 by kellina

Thanks to Fashion & Runway, we have a breakdown of all of the guests that wore Gucci for the party although they somehow managed to overlook Carine who was stunning in a full length Gucci dress...

Frida Giannini wore a black velvet jacket, a georgette satin insert shirt, velvet tuxedo leggings with black leather platform ankle-strap sandals with square and pointed stud details on the back, and black satin evening bag with gold and silver crystals and studs.

Stefano Accorsi wore a Fall/Winter 2010-2011 dark grey “Signoria” plain wool suit, white popeline shirt, dark grey silk tie, and black leather shoes.

Jessica Alba wore a one-of-a-kind strapless cocktail dress embroidered all over with a degradé of pale and silver grey metallic beads and crystals and featuring a draped back and low single strap detail.

Gemma Arterton wore a Spring/Summer 2011 sablé corse linen stretch seam cape dress.

Anna Calvi wore a Spring/Summer 2011 black georgette satin tuxedo jumpsuit.

Charlotte Casiraghi wore a Spring/Summer 2011 black matte jersey jumpsuit with embroidered bias strips with high heel platform sandals in black velvet and leather, with gold leather.

Laura Chiatti wore a one-of-a-kind cocktail dress with hand dyed lilac and pale grey paillette embroidery.

Poppy Delevingne wore a Spring/Summer 2011-2012 black fine cotton long sleeve boat neck top with leather details and a black cotton duchesse leather cage skirt with metal embroidery.

Valeria Golino wore an ice silk crepe de chine shawl collar jacket, army green crepe romain pants, high heel platform oatmeal suede back zip sandal with stud detail, and a sable leather Gucci "1973" clutch from the Cruise 2011 collection.

Diane Kruger wore a Spring/Summer 2011 black silk organza backless dress with leather, PVC, and metal fringe embroidery.

Tali Lennox wore a Cruise 2011 peach crystal embroidered georgette dress, high heel platform ankle-strap sandals, and small shoulder bag in sand leather with chain and double G logo ornament.

Karmen Pedaru wore a Fall/Winter 2010-2011 black ostrich feather embroidered side collar.

Mark Ronson wore an ink notch lapel two button suit and white button up shirt.

Maya Sansa wore a Spring/Summer 2011 black matte satin drape strapless top, indian jade crepe romain fold pants, a black silk satin short jacket, high heel platform sandals in black suede, and a clutch in black satin with gold leather trim.

Caroline Sieber wore a Spring/Summer 2011 runway black leather fringe cut detail top with black suede fringe skirt along with high heel open toe black leather booties.

Olivia Wilde wore a Spring/Summer 2011 black and jade silk wrap jumpsuit with azure sash detail.

Carine Roitfeld: Death Of A Boxer

In digging through my archives I unearthed this little gem of an editorial by Carine Roitfeld titled "Death of a Boxer" in which she seeks "a pair of pants which guarantees permanent pull-'em-off pulling power." La Roitfeld selected briefs by Yves Saint Laurent, Helmut Lang, Valentino, Gucci, John Paul Gaultier, and Hugo Boss to try to take down the classic boxer, a tough challenge but Carine posed worthy contenders. In my humble estimation the clear winner is YSL — pull-'em-off, honey, pull-'em-off! Her sexy bit of styling appeared originally in the Spring/Summer 1996 issue of Arena Homme + with Mario Testino shooting the photographs. What do you think, boxers or briefs?

Arena Homme + editorial images © 1996 Bauer Consumer Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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.

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.

Carine Roitfeld: Le Grand Jeu

I find myself in the mood for warmer weather and fewer clothes so let's take inspiration from this sexy editorial "Le Grand Jeu" styled by Carine Roitfeld for the September 2003 issue of Vogue Paris. The model is Carolyn Murphy, basking in the luxurious setting of the InterContinental Carlton in Cannes; Mario Testino had the pleasure of shooting the editorial with makeup by Tom Pêcheux and hair by Samantha Hillerby.

What is the game that Carine has in mind? She describes it thusly: "De ses ongles laqués rubis à l'imprimé fauve de sa blouse en mousseline, de la fièvre en centimètres de ses escarpins au bleu aphrodisiaque de ses yeux, tout chez elle respire la féminin exalté. Un sex-appeal solaire qui attise la convoitise et peut rendre fou." In English: "From her ruby lacquered nails to the tawny printed chiffon of her blouse, from the fever of the centimeters of her heels to the blue aphrodisiac of her eyes, everything about her exudes the impassioned female. A solar sex appeal that stirs the lust and can drive you mad." Kellina likes the heat...

Vogue Paris editorial images © 2003 Condé Nast. All Rights Reserved.