Carine Roitfeld: irreverent

This stunning book - so elegant, so chic, so Carine - is a visual history of the former French Vogue editor's fearless career. As she herself comments, "I love violating the codes of bourgeois elegance" and this book demonstrates her talent for being a subversive instigator, known for pushing the limits.

In his foreword, art critic Olivier Zahm describes Carine Roitfeld as being her own muse, even when she openly plays with the fantasy and erotic dreams she insists aren't part of her reality. Above all, her lack of fear and the absence of taboos in her fashion ideas are her greatest strengths. She wields a clever mix of elegance and bourgeois convention, on the one hand, and provocation and freedom, on the other. This the Belle de Jour side to Carine Roitfeld, which makes her - Russian side not withstanding - the quintessential French woman.

Featuring a selection of 250 magazine tear sheets and covers from editorial shoots and advertising campaigns, as well as intimate ephemera, this inspiring book gives an inside view into Roitfeld's creative thought process and audacious sensibility.
Irreverent is published by Rizzoli New York.

Here are some excerpts from the book.
© Carine Roitfeld: irreverent, Rizzoli New York, 2011

Left page: Mario Testino/ September 2002, Right page:  Mario Testino/ Vogue Paris/ March 2011

Mario Testino / Dutch magazine / Winter 1997

Mario Testino / Vogue Paris / August 2008

Mario Sorrenti / Vogue Paris / August 2010

Left page: Mario Testino / The Face / 1996, Right page: Roitfeld personal photo

Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott / Vogue Paris / September 2008

Carine Roitfeld: irreverent

Courtesy Rizzoli New York, 2011

Food meets Art, Henry Hargreaves' Food of the Rainbow

Henry Hargreaves is a still life photographer from New Zealand. His introduction to this industry began in front of the camera as a model for revered fashion houses such as Prada, YSL, Jil Sander and more....

Four years ago, Hargreaves settled in New York and built out a studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He has been shooting still life and fashion photography since. As you will discover, his still life photographies are quite unique, playful, bright and very colorful.

"In my series "Food of the Rainbow," I wanted to make the food look as surreal and artificial as possible,  but at the same time because of this strange fascination, you actually feel completed to try it. I feel this is kind of like Willy Wonka's wet dream of real food."

~~ Henry Hargreaves

Food of the Rainbow

© Henry Hargreaves

Styled by Lisa Edslav

Courtesy Henry Hargreaves

India Mahdavi for Hotel Thoumieux

It took several months of building work to complete the renovation of this fifteen-bedroom house and to install the specially commissioned furniture, with designs featuring a subtle combination of motifs, colors and warm materials. The hotel's interior was entrusted to the talented India Mahdavi, one of the most fashionable architects of the moment, widely acclaimed for her work at the Connaught in London, the Townhouse in Miami, the Germain in Paris and the Rivington in New York. With a number of inspired touches, the design duo M/M have for their part also continued the creative partnership first initiated at the "Brasserie Thoumieux."

What Jean-Francois Piege, former chef at le Crillon, and Thierry Costes have set out to do here is transpose  the welcoming atmosphere of a traditional country house to an urban environment, while at the same time adding elements of comfort and modernity. The gastronomic restaurant "Jean-Francois Piege" was awarded two stars by the Michelin Guide in March 2011. Today, new heights have been attained as the Hotel Thoumieux opens its doors to the public.

Hotel Thoumieux

Restaurant "Jean-Francois Piege"

Photos © Vincent Leroux

Photos © Stephane de Bourgies

Rooms

© Stephane de Bourgies

Courtesy Hotel Thoumieux, Paris-France

Gallery of Portraits: Wu Zetian, the Chinese Empress meets Cornelius the Great

These are trays for special occasions and for lavish receptions. They were created by Rachel Convers from Ibride. From the imaginative universe of Rachel, a mysterious bestiary emerges: an aristocratic and eccentric dynasty. Severe looking fowl, elegant deers, feathered duchesses, or horned dignitaries invade service trays. These legendary figures, adorned with amazing fabrics of velvet, damask or starched ruffs, hang on the walls of our drawing rooms, like a gallery of famous ancestors. Each season, the family tree will sprout new descendants and new stories...

Wu Zetian, Zhao series

Cornelius, Pondichery series

El Querido series

Pater

Mater

Filius

Au Grand Theatre series
Amboise

Bianca

Bernardo

Pia

Le Boudoir series

Isild

Courtesy Ibride