Mademoiselle C is a reference to Carine Roitfeld, the fashion magazine editor who is France’s equivalent of Anna Wintour. For a decade, Roitfeld was the editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris and then in 2011 she decided to quit to set up her own magazine in New York, simply titled CR. Fabien Constant’s revealing documentary covers the production and launch of the first issue.
It seems that the director approached the fashion editor at exactly the right time. “I was starting this new adventure with the magazine and I thought that anything that will be good to help the magazine I would do,” says Roitfeld. “I know Fabien and he came to me and he proposed a film that would follow me, like a September Issue, about this first issue.”
What she did not envisage was that over the seven months she was followed by Constant, he would make such a personal and intimate portrait, much more so than the 2009 documentary on American Vogue Roitfeld refers to. During the filming, Roitfeld became a grandmother for the first time. She is also shown practising ballet, at home with her husband Riccardo and interacting with a host of her friends, such as Karl Lagerfeld and Tom Ford. It is a life full of glamour.
Even with a sensitive and friendly director at the helm, it was tough to have a documentary crew follow her around. “To live with a microphone and camera is very difficult, not just for me, but for my team,” says the 59-year-old. “We were a very small team creating the magazine and, apart from the editor Stephen Gan, we didn’t know each other really well, so they were very nice to accept this idea.”
It turns out that big companies aren’t necessarily happy when their star editor leaves. As Roitfeld starts putting the new magazine together, she discovers that a number of the photographers she likes to employ for shoots have been warned that the Vogue publisher Condé Nast might not look too kindly on them working on the new magazine. “I was a bit surprised,” says Roitfeld. “But I also knew that was the price to pay for being free. I know some photographers and, of course, they have contracts. Mario Testino is my oldest friend and he cannot work for me. It’s business.”
She has kind words to say about her former employers, too. “I don’t have any regrets. I had 10 amazing years with Vogue. It was very fun and I tried to make the best of it. But Vogue existed before me, and it will exist after me, that’s for sure. Vogue is a bigger name than my name.”
Becoming a grandmother was a pivotal moment for her. “I think when I became a grandmother my life changed a lot and I think I changed personally. You have to open your eyes in a different way and I think I’m very grateful. In fashion, people say we’re very superficial and we just think about the clothes and, in a way, it’s true. I think the baby gave me a lot of oxygen. It took me back to reality and that’s very important.”
After the launch of CR, Roitfeld was approached by Harper’s Bazaar to work on its magazine and to the surprise of many, she accepted a position. “It took me a long time to accept, because I said: ‘Hmm, I want my freedom.’ But ultimately it is freedom, because I don’t have any boss. I don’t have an editor-in-chief, it’s just a contract with me as a big president. I’ll always follow the advice of Karl [Lagerfeld] when he says: ‘Everything that you’re doing, do it in a style that no one else has done it before you.’”
Mademoiselle C screens on Wednesday at 9pm in Vox 3 and on Thursday at 3.45pm in Vox 1
artslife@thenational.ae
More on Quran memorisation:
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The%20specs
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
SPECS
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