Kim Kardashian's New Fashionista Friend: 5 Things to Know About Carine Roitfeld

Get the scoop on the former editor-in-chief of French Vogue

By Marc Malkin Oct 02, 2013 7:49 PMTags
Carine Roitfeld, Kim KardashianMichel Dufour/WireImage

No doubt you've seen and heard all about Kim Kardashian's trip to Paris Fashion Week.

Her last night in the City of Light was spent with her new French friend Carine Roitfeld at the premiere and after party for her documentary Mademoiselle C.

K.K. tweeted a photo of herself at the celeb-packed event, writing that she was styled for the evening by Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci and Roitfeld's crew at her magazine, CR. Later, the E! reality star posted a pic of Roitfeld with a simple caption of "CR."

So who is Carine Roitfeld? Here, we give you five things to know about the fab 59-year-old fashionista:

PHOTOS: Kim's post-pregnancy style

D Dipasupil/Getty Images for The Daily Front Row

1. She Got an Early Start in Fashion: Roitfeld, who was born and raised in Paris, began her career when she was still in her teens as a model and also as a writer and stylist for French Elle. She then worked with Tom Ford at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent before she made a move to Italian knit house Missoni.

2. She Was Editor-in-Chief of French Vogue: Roitfeld became the boss at French Vogue in 2001. Her supposed feud with American Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour was highlighted by New York magazine in 2008 when they dubbed Roitfeld as "The Anti-Anna." "It's very difficult not to become a puppet," Roitfeld said of becoming a fashion personality. "Like Anna, she becomes so iconic that she becomes like a puppet. I don't want to be like that, I don't want to wear this uniform, I don't want to be just an envelope." For years, there were rumors that Roitfeld would replace Wintour at Vogue. Remember in the Devil Wears Prada when Miranda is replaced for a moment by Jacqueline Follet? Well, guess who Follet was inspired by.

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3. She's a Mom—And a Grandma: Roitfeld and her partner of more than 30 years, Christian Restoin (they've never married), have two children. Their son, Vladimir, is an art dealer and daughter Julia is an art director and model. Julia gave birth in May 2012 to her and Swedish model Robert Konjic's first child, daughter Romy.

4. She Has Her Own Magazine Now: Roitfeld left Vogue in December 2010. A few months later, she confirmed she was launching her own magazine, CR.

5. She Really Loves Kim: The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star appears on the cover of CR's most recent issue. She was still pregnant with Nori when the pics were taken by...Karl Lagerfeld! Roitfeld described the images to Women's Wear Daily as a "precious moment of Kim's pregnancy that people haven't seen." She also said. "This is not something for a gossip magazine that goes into the trash. This is a magazine that is a collector's item."