fashionologie

Fashion Descends on London For the Frieze Art Fair

fashionologie — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:37:59 PDT

>> On to the next: Not a week after Paris Fashion Week ended, fashion's attention has already been shifted to London, where the Frieze Art Fair gets under way today. Yesterday, designers Alber Elbaz and Phoebe Philo, art dealers Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld and Philo's husband, Max Wigram, plus Natalia Vodianova, Caroline Sieber, and Valentino Garavani were all spotted taking in the wares at the VIP preview.

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See Snaps from Last Night's Roitfeld-Heavy Art Opening and After-Party

fashionologie — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:27:24 PDT

>> Last night - with the help of a 2,000-strong crowd - curators and art dealers Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld and Andy Valmorbida wrapped up their two-year, Giorgio Armani-sponsored global tour of artist Richard Hambleton's work. While most of their New York openings have been downtown, Restoin-Roitfeld and Valmorbida decided on Phillips de Pury & Company's uptown location on Park Avenue for last night's opening, gathering the entire Roitfeld clan, Giovanna Battaglia, and Lauren Santo Domingo for the occasion.

But that doesn't mean the group didn't head downtown eventually: after-party mode went into effect at Indochine, with Battaglia pantomiming "telephone" on a stiletto heel and Carine Roitfeld ordering up vodka straight.

Photos: Billy Farrell Agency

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Eddie Borgo Welcomes Giovanna Battaglia to New York with Celebratory Dinner

fashionologie — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:27:02 PDT

>> Giovanna Battaglia, who moved four weeks ago to New York and has started working more with W, was thrown a welcoming dinner last night at The Upstairs at Cipriani Downtown by Eddie Borgo and his boyfriend, stylist Keegan Singh. Battaglia wore an “I Heart New York” t-shirt studded all across the front by Borgo (left), and celebrated with the likes of Gaia Repossi, Vladimir and Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, and Joseph Altuzarra. W's Joseph Logan designed t-shirts that were passed out, proclaiming “New York Loves Gio,” one of which Altuzarra then customized for Battaglia with a pair of scissors. [W]

See New W Stylist Giovanna Battaglia's Latest Editorial for the Magazine

fashionologie — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:32:42 PDT

>> Giovanna Battaglia, who recently moved to New York for "personal reasons," according to a W rep - likely to be closer to her Manhattan-based beau, Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld - has started doing freelance styling for the magazine. She worked with Julia Saner and Jacquelyn Jablonski on an 8-image, color-centric editorial for W's March 2011 issue, and now her contribution to the April 2011 issue - featuring girls-about-town like Shala Monroque, Delfina Delettrez Fendi, and Charlotte Dellal - is out. Battaglia is expected to work more with W in the coming months, according to the magazine's spokesperson, but she hasn't signed a contract.

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Carine Roitfeld Has a New (and Secret) Fashion Project in the Works

fashionologie — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:55:58 PST

>> Carine Roitfeld has popped over to New York - last night, she wore Givenchy couture to the amfAR Gala "because I’m working with amfAR and it’s very important for me to be here," and tonight, she was at her son Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld's RETNA art opening, wearing "all Rick Owens," she told us, but she's "not seeing any fashion shows" and goes back to Paris on Saturday. She's definitely not out of fashion for good - last night she told The Cut, "I have a new project" which is "in fashion, of course." Although she's "too superstitious" to discuss details, she did promise more information "in one month." [The Cut]

See Julia Restoin-Roitfeld's First Lancome Ad; Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld Says His Mom Carine Roitfeld "Has a Tiny Wardrobe"

fashionologie — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:08:42 PDT

>> Julia Restoin-Roitfeld was recently named a Lancome face, and now her first ad - for the brand's Ultra Lavande Spring 2011 color collection - is out. She also has an upcoming campaign in Asia, for the Lancome Blanc Expert line, set to debut next year.

As for her brother, Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, he's still doing the promoter thing; when asked recently about marrying his girlfriend Giovanna Battaglia, who he's been dating just over a year, he replied: "I'm very much in love, but my parents never got married and they have been together for 31 years. If you don't get married, you can't get divorced."

And speaking of his parents, Vladimir admitted that despite her position, his mother Carine Roitfeld doesn't have a closet bursting with free clothes: "Actually, my mum has never had a lot of clothes, and she has a tiny wardrobe. She knows exactly what she likes to wear. There's one long cupboard in her bedroom, and you never see shoes lying about anywhere else. I've got more clothes than she has."

Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld's Latest Art Show Sells Out in One Night

fashionologie — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 08:25:29 PDT

>> Last night, Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld held his latest art showcase - new works by painter Nicolas Pol, who he's worked with in the past - as part of the Frieze Art Fair in London, with girlfriend Giovanna Battaglia and mother Carine Roitfeld there for support. Restoin Roitfeld champions young artists through his private dealership Feedback Ltd (named after a French radio program). "I don’t think, especially when you start in the business, you need 20 artists," he tells Nowness, "but two to three people you really believe in [where you can] have a relationship that will last for a little bit." He also has been known to partner up with major luxury brands like Giorgio Armani to hold his roving shows: "I don’t see why it is so bad for an artist to do something with such a credible person as Mr. Armani or a brand like Vuitton or Prada, or Miuccia herself. I don’t think it’s good to only do exhibitions and collaborations with fashion names, but I don’t see how it hurts the artist to do suddenly a huge show in Milan and New York with Armani, which had thousands of people coming and was all over the press. If the art is good and this element doesn’t take too much away from the creative side, then it doesn’t hurt." The strategy seems to be working: last night's art show - see some of the works here - reportedly sold out. [Nowness]

Altuzarra Fall 2010 Wows Well-Heeled Crowd with Sutured Suiting and Blood-Red Gowns

fashionologie — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:03:43 PST

>> Joseph Altuzarra may have gone with an intimate presentation at Milk Studios last night, but his guest list packed a lot of punch. The Roitfeld clan was well-represented: Carine, Vladimir, and Julia were all there, with Vlad greeting his sister with a kiss on each cheek; his girlfriend, Giovanna Battaglia, and Julia von Boehm showed up, too. The Trainas were also out in full force: Victoria and Samantha sat next to Chad Muska (there to support girlfriend Vanessa Traina, who walked in the show for the second time and was listed in the program notes as an "advisor") and Alexander Wang, who was relaxing with his show behind him, enjoying a glass of white wine, and chatting to close friend and interior decorator to the models Ryan Korban. And then there was Anna Wintour, attending Altuzarra's show for the first time, who arrived early to have a chat with the designer backstage pre-show; after she took her seat, Carine smiled at Wintour as she passed.

Needless to say, Altuzarra did not disappoint. The designer, who pushed a looser silhouette last season when everyone else was hanging onto the hard-edged look interestingly decided to veer back that way now that everyone else is moving away. Inspired by Edward Scissorhands - the film's theme was played during the show - and the current sexualization of vampires, Altuzarra started out with a stream of black leather - accented with goat hair, slashed and then stitched up suture-style, belted multiple times across the waist, chest, back, wrists, and even thighs; Abbey Lee Kershaw was even suited up in a Catwoman-style leather bodysuit. Then came the blood red gowns, sparkling with Swarovski crystals and ending with Natasha Poly in the sophisticated version of a Little Red Riding Hood cape. The ankle-slashed boots were done in collaboration with Gianvito Rossi, and former Vogue Paris editor (and Carine's former assistant) Melanie Huynh did styling honors. Perhaps Bryanboy put it best when he said of the collection: "It's like raiding Carine's Closet."

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Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld Planning Two More Art Shows, Including First in Milan

fashionologie — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:45:10 PST

>> Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld is working hard to make a name as a "curator" or "art tailor," as he reportedly prefers to be called - he's formed a company, Feedback Ltd., is renting an office in Manhattan's artcentric Chelsea neighborhood, and is hiring an assistant. All three of his art shows have gone down in New York City - two of them coinciding with Fashion Week - and next up, he plans to work again with artist Richard Hambleton for an exhibition in Milan, followed by another show with an as yet unnamed artist in New York, reports The New York Observer.

Despite growing up amongst the fashion world, which is, needless to say, enamored with the idea of exclusivity, Restoin-Roitfeld doesn't seem so taken by the concept when it comes to his approach:

“I was going to different exhibitions and it always had this feeling of a closed circle, and it was something very hard to enter for many. So I thought if I just did it in a different way, I could capture the interest of a different crowd of people. I just decided to rent very large spaces and invite a huge crowd of people and present art that I believe to be amazing and just make it more fun and open-minded.”

His ultimate aspiration and even a bit on Giovanna Battaglia »

Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld Has Carine, Jean Paul, and Mary-Kate in His Corner

PopSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:59:07 PST

Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld gathered his always interesting mix of fashion and art friends together in the Lower East Side last night to debut "The Martus Maw," an exhibition of sixteen mixed media pieces from the French artist Nicolas Pol. It was the fourth presentation from Feedback, the art firm Vladimir opened in 2008.

The space he chose was a former packing plant, and the meat hooks dangling from the ceiling presented an interesting counterpoint to the neon-accented pieces and the glam crowd sipping champagne to tunes from DJ Nick Cohen. The event was thrown in conjunction with RVCA's artist network, and fittingly, friend of the label Erin Wasson came out to rub shoulders with an otherwise Euro-heavy set that included Stavros Niarchos, Daphne Guiness, and Olympia Scarry.

Vladimir's mother Carine practically stole the show, however, when she arrived wearing head-to-toe lace and a black cape with Jean Paul Gaultier in tow. Once the preview wrapped up, a select few headed over for a meal at Vlad's favoritie restaurant, Indochine.

Photos courtesy Patrick McMullan

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