No one embodies French style and savvy quite like Carine Roitfeld. One of the fashion industry’s most prominent editors, she spent a memorable decade at the helm of Vogue Paris, where she published the kind of edgy, subversive photo shoots that made her a global sensation. In 2012, she founded her own New York–based magazine, CR Fashion Book, which has become a place of discovery not only for new fashion but for emerging talent across the arts and culture worlds as well. Now, she creates luxury products under her own name, and her latest perfume, Carine, has just arrived at Harrods and Printemps. As the spring issue of CR Fashion Book hits newsstands, she shares her key components to the good life. —Ashley Baker
Airline: Air France.
Airport: Charles de Gaulle’s arrivals terminal. It means I’m coming home.
Alibi: “I was on set.” My team will vouch for me.
App: FaceTime. Simple, I know, but it’s how I see my children and grandchildren when we’re apart.
Bag: I tend not to carry a bag and always have pockets, but when I do, I like something small to carry my phone and cash.
Bedtime: Nine p.m.
Bike: A tandem bike with someone else pedaling.
Birthday: The ones spent with family.
Boyfriend/girlfriend: Someone who has their own thing going on.
Breakfast, weekday: Overnight oats, coffee, and an assortment of fruit.
Breakfast, weekend: An egg-white omelet with a side of toast.
Car: Aston Martin DB4.
Cocktail: A Grey Goose dry apple martini.
Cocktail appetizer: A cigarette.
Child: Vladimir.
Couple: Julia and Tim.
Date: My cigarette and espresso.
Diet: Everything in moderation.
Dinner, weekday: Caviar.
Dinner, weekend: Caviar.
Dress: A Chanel black dress given to me by Karl Lagerfeld.
Drive: Along the Boulevard de la Croisette. I drive along the coast each year after my AmFAR gala each May.
Enemy:
To diet.
Escape: Somewhere without Internet, so I can fully disconnect.
Excuse: “I can’t. I’ll be on set that day.”
First Lady: Michelle Obama, for her impeccable style and commitment to wearing up-and-coming designers.
Friend: Someone loyal, and no matter how much time has passed, it feels like home seeing them.
Fit: Tailored to perfection to enhance your body’s natural curves.
Hideaway: My bathroom.
Hotel: Hôtel du Cap.
Indulgence: My perfume, Carine.
Insult: “Roi des cons.” It translates to “king of idiots.”
Neighbor: The quiet ones who keep to themselves.
Piece of advice: “No matter how old you get, continue to make friends.”
Storm: A rainstorm. The noise can be soothing.
Street: Rue des Thermopyles, to soak up the country-village atmosphere in a tucked-away corner of Paris.
Television series: Currently, The White Lotus and Emily in Paris.
Time of day: Bedtime or sunset.
Toast: With butter and strawberry preserves.
Vacation: Somewhere warm with my family or friends.
View: My children and grandchildren, smiling.
Wake-up time: 6:30 a.m.
Weekend bag: A large Tom Ford.
Work of art: A photograph by Karl (Lagerfeld) or Mario (Testino).
Carine’s Musts
