The Roitfelds are certainly fans of the Coca-Cola family of beverages. Above we see Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld enjoying a can of the classic Coke while on a photo shoot for Flaunt Magazine. When his sister Julia Restoin-Roitfeld opened her Manhattan home to photographer Todd Selby, he stopped to zoom in on the can of Coke Zero on her sideboard pictured below. However, in the editorial for Russian Tatler shown Julia seems to be sipping a Diet Coke. My first thought upon noticing their preference for Coke was, "How American!" After researching the considerable history of the product, I discovered that Coke actually has French aspirations and an intriguing background.
Invented by John Pemberton in the late 19th century at the Eagle Drug and Chemical Company in Columbus, Georgia, it was initially called Pemberton's French Wine Cocoa and intended to compete with the popular European coca wines. When prohibition passed, Pemberton formulated a non-alcoholic version which he named Coca-Cola. The soft drink's two key ingredients were cocaine, derived from the coca leaf, and caffeine from the kola nut. With an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine per five cents a glass, Coca-Cola was extremely popular at soda fountains in the United States at the time due to the belief that carbonated water was good for the health. Huh, maybe the drink's enormous popularity was actually due to the cheap liquid cocaine in every glass... Even today, Coca-Cola uses a coca leaf extract as an ingredient that is free of active cocaine though trace amounts remain at a molecular level.
Coca-Cola was later bought by Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing prowess led to the company's dominance of the international beverage market in the 20th century. The famous Coca-Cola logo was designed in 1885 by Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson. He conceived the name and chose the distinctive script for which the logo is renowned. The shape of the package known as the "contour bottle" is equally famous and was designed in 1915 by Earl R. Dean in response to design specifications that included the order to create a bottle so unique that it could be recognized if felt in the dark and distinguishable at a glance even if broken. Dean met this criteria by casting the design of the ribbed coca pod in the medium of glass and his work is still in production nearly 100 years later, a product designer could not hope for higher praise. Roberto Cavalli adapted his inspiring design for the limited edition animal skin versions seen below, perhaps with the leopard bottle even Carine can be coaxed to have a Coke and a smile...
Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld photograph © 2010 Flaunt Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
Photograph of Julia Restoin-Roitfeld's Coke Zero can © 2009 Todd Selby. All Rights Reserved.
Julia Restoin-Roitfeld image © 2009 Russian Tatler. All Rights Reserved.
Roberto Cavalli Coca-Cola bottle design courtesy of outnext.com.
Coke® is a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company.
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