Year Of Beauty
Famed French stylist Carine Roitfeld graciously chose to
collaborate with Estée Lauder on her CR 2019 Calendar, with
100% of the selling price benefiting the Breast Cancer
Research Foundation®. Find out what inspired her approach
(and what inspires her daily).
From fierce and unapologetic to determined and graceful, women can work a lot of different looks—and achieve each one beautifully, too. A shift from last year’s ultra-sexy approach to a woman’s strength, this new year’s CR Women 2019 calendar from famed French stylist and magazine editor Carine Roitfeld finds its allure in a different kind of artistry.
Styled by Roitfeld and photographed by Mario Sorrenti, the calendar kicks off the year in an editorial way. Continuing the visual fantasy of Roitfeld’s magazine, CR Fashion Book, it features a floral theme along with iconic Estée Lauder models. "The 2019 calendar is a tribute to women and their beauty," Roitfeld says. "Rather than doing pictures of very sexy women, I decided to go with a different idea and represent them as flowers."
100% of the selling price benefits the Breast Cancer Research Foundation® (BCRF), the highest rated breast cancer charity in the U.S. founded by Evelyn H. Lauder in 1993. BCRF is the largest private funder of breast cancer research in the world, currently supporting the work of nearly 300 scientists across the globe. "Breast cancer touches almost everyone, unfortunately," Roitfeld says. "If it’s not oneself, then it’s one’s mother, sister or aunt. This pays homage to the beauty of the woman, sometimes almost discreet."
Read on to learn more about the CR and Estée collab—and get to know the legendary stylist a little better.
The 2019 calendar is a tribute to women and their beauty.
What drove the inspiration for how you styled the 2019 calendar?
This year is about honouring women’s beauty through images that are more
seductive than sexy, and it’s a very new vision for a calendar. We had a lot of fun
with the makeup, particularly in transforming the models by following the
inspiration of flowers.
What's your favourite fashion moment of 2018 so far?
Every year, the amfAR Gala Cannes at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc raises funds for amfAR, a charity that is very close to my heart. It’s a fashion moment that goes beyond fashion, and that’s what I like to do.
What is your first-ever fashion memory?
My mother had a subscription to ELLE when I was a little girl, and I remember very well reading it every time it came.
What do you love most about what you do?
I enjoy getting out of the day-to-day and living my fantasies through my photos. I do not make fashion stories about the girl next door. Instead, they are a form of escape and are often stories inspired by movies or actresses.
What’s your advice for aspiring stylists?
Everyone wants to be a stylist today but many don’t realize it's a very physical job; it's a lot more than getting out of a car to go to a show. For ten years, I carried huge bags on the subway, cutting my hands on the plastic packages.
If you weren't in fashion, which industry do you wish you could be in?
I would have loved to be an actress, but I do not have the profile. I would have loved to write. I think I have the inner strength to be able to work alone and to sit at a table and write—but not the talent. I started my career writing fashion papers before illustrating them.
Who are the most inspiring women to you?
There are many! One was Liz Taylor, the most beautiful woman in the world. Not
only for her taste, but also because but she fought to start a conversation about AIDS and how people touched by AIDS should not be rejected. She also created
the amfAR gala. Audrey Hepburn also moved and inspired me. I loved her
simplicity when she got dressed, and also because she was the first renowned
UNICEF ambassador.
What’s a great book you've read lately?
I recently reread all the books by Françoise Sagan, who is one of my main heroines. Even if it dates back to the ’60s, I see a lot of myself in her. She was a very, very modern woman for her time.
What's the one thing you always do when getting ready for the day? And then at night?
I have an app in which I do 10 minutes of meditation every morning. It calms me and it reassures me for the day to come. My second essential move is applying some perfume behind the ears. In the evening, I do a full makeup removal—and again the 10 minutes of meditation with that same app.
What’s on your bucket list?
If I were told that I have only three months, I would not worry about doing crazy things. I would try to enjoy the people I love and hold on to time with them.
