Coco Chanel’s Legacy in Mademoiselle C (documentary film)
Wed. 24 April ‘24
Carine Roitfeld, Parisian fashion magazine editor/founder, expresses how her greatest inspiration is Coco Chanel through her reverence to Coco represented across the film Mademoiselle C. Carine Roitfeld led a successful career as a stylist, working with Tom Ford and other designers.
Image of Carine Roitfeld
Afterward, she departed to work as Editor-in-Chief at Vogue Paris for 10 years. Carine upholds the legacy of Coco Chanel within her selection of photoshoots, designers, and clothes. Roitfeld takes pride in selecting specific models who can recreate the images that present the fashion magazine as a dream, a fantasy sort of world. In the documentary, Carine says “It is better to be called beautiful than to be asked what clothes are you wearing?” Carine epitomizes Parisian chic fashion in every aspect of her life, from her personal family life, social circle with her friends and colleagues, and her work as the founder of her magazine CR Fashion Book. Carine idolizes Coco Chanel’s legacy and successfully recreates the essence of Parisian fashion, revitalizing Coco’s ideas about womenswear.
Photo of Paris by Ellen Effy Su
Carine is always supportive of her two adult children. She believed in letting them follow their creative passions and outlets. She dreamed of her son following in her father’s footsteps of becoming a film producer, but her son was drawn to the art world. Her son opened an art gallery, which is shown in the documentary. Carine’s pregnant daughter is filmed on a photoshoot for a magazine. Carine adores her newborn granddaughter and hopes to have a close, loving relationship with her. Carine is honourably proud of her two adult children who continue to work in creative industries. Carine and her partner were never married, but have stayed together for decades. Carine says in the film “I am Russian, and I believe in superstition. All our friends are divorced. We’re still together.” Carine’s partner agrees with her modernistic attitude towards marriage and tradition.
Photo of Paris by Ellen Effy Su
Carine goes against the grain in terms of fashion. She pushes for lesser-known models, and new faces, and plans out-of-the-ordinary shoot concepts that the industry is not accustomed to. Carine is the brain behind the operation. She has an incredible creative vision by seeing the beauty in ordinary objects and locations and then presenting concepts to visualize her innermost thoughts. Carine says she “chose to rebel through her photography and creative ideas.” She “never dyed her hair orange or got tattoos.” She was called “overly sexual” because she designed photo sets that were vulgar in the eyes of critics.
However, Carine viewed her art as an extension of the boundary between fashion and sex. Her work at Tom Ford exemplified her creative process of creating elusively explicit fashionable pictures. Carine liked to merge sex appeal with luxurious clothes because she could formulate a fantastical dream world for people to escape into. For example, “Someone may not be able to buy all the clothes at Gucci, but the magazine lets them dream about entering this cool club.” Fashion magazines sell the idea of exclusivity to ordinary people who peer into the industry by looking at these images.
Carine purposefully chooses uncommon settings to shoot in, such as a graveyard, a farm, and a deathbed. She chose a model to dress as an angel with feathers falling softly over her, representing the angel who protects the baby pictured on the magazine cover. Roitfeld says her second reason is her father passed away years ago, and she feels her dad is an angel looking over her. She considers the model an example of her father’s soul still connected to her. Carine’s close friendship with Karl Lagerfeld is admirable. She doesn’t view her colleagues as competition. She supports her colleagues’ work, which benefits her as well. Carine respects every person she works with and the people she meets. That makes her likable and unique from people who pay less attention to their surrounding environment. Carine converses with Donatella Versace while she looks at Donatella’s new clothing line. Donatella shows Carine her gigantic cocktail rings and places a ring on Carine’s finger. Donatella is excited to see Carine. Carine’s colleagues are happy to work with her because Carine respects their opinions and “makes them feel special.”
Photo of Paris by Ellen Effy Su
Carine’s work in fashion and social circles defines her legacy. Carine became the first global fashion director for Harper’s Bazaar in 2012. Her debut magazine CR Fashion Book sold out within two weeks after its launch. Carine is a successful woman in her work and personal life. She has become an international fashion icon and muse to many. Her work has reached over 11 million people globally. Carine Roitfeld has become synonymous with Parisian fashion itself.
