Carine Roitfeld is one of the most influential women in the fashion industry, boasting over 40 years of experience and is showing no signs of slowing down. Born in Paris, 1954 to a Mother, that Roitfeld herself, describes as a ‘very classic Frenchwoman’ and a film producer Father – it is no wonder that Roitfeld found herself within the fashion sphere so quickly.

At the age of 18, Carine was scouted to model on the streets of Paris and this acted as her way in. She subsequently went to work as a writer at French Elle, where she turned her attention to styling and remained for 15 years.

Despite Roitfeld stating that she was “not the best stylist”, this did not prevent those at Yves Saint-Laurent and Gucci, to name a few, from taking inspiration from her effortlessly cool style and asking for a helping hand.

Not only were all those in the industry captivated by the fierce Parisienne, Roitfeld also caught the eye of former Equipment Clothing owner, Christian Restoin, in an uber cool Parisian nightclub – naturally. Restoin and Roitfeld remain unmarried and have two children together – Parsons graduate Julia and artist Vladimir. Although, the children came along early on in the relationship, she dotingly insists “it was a good accident”.

However, this “accident” did not stop Carine in her tracks. She progressed in her career further and took her, arguably, most renowned position as Vogue Paris Editor in 2001, which she held for 10 years. She then moved on to pursue other projects, such as styling Chanel campaigns alongside long-term friend, Karl Lagerfeld and publishing fashion books.

Roitfeld established her own magazine, CR, in 2013, amongst her many other projects and “Mademoiselle C” continues to pave her way through the industry, leaving the footprint of a Chanel stiletto behind her.

Faye Buckland

Cover image –  www.alamodesty.com