Daily Front Row

2013 February 13

Carine Moves Into Casa Lever (For The Eve)

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Carine Roitfeld, Riccardo Tisci, Ciara, Jessica Hart, and Irina Shayk
Patrick McMullan View Gallery

(NEW YORK) At long last, issue deux of Carine Roitfeld's CR Fashion Book tome got its celebratory due, in two parts. First, a gallery gathering for the close of "Merci Mercy," an exhibit co-curated by Roitfeld's son, Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, followed by a glitzy (later, dance-filled!) whirl at Casa Lever, bringing out the likes of Anna Della Russo, Olivier Theyskens, Riccardo Tisci, Richard Phillips, Ciara, Filipa Fino, and scads of mods. Bonjour, Karlie Kloss, Lily Donaldson, Jessica Hart, Doutzen Kroes, Irina Shayk, and more! Besides generously-refilled pours of Veuve, there were delectables like postage-stamps of seared tuna, truffled egg salad, and particularly scrumptious sliders (so largely scaled, they probably outgrew the slider categorization). The shimmying took hold after a few flutes of bubbly, especially amongst the mod set. Joy! Your Daily chatted up two such mods on everything from keeping tidy to Russian lineage...
BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV 

Doutzen Kroes
We’re at Casa Lever—what’s your casa like?
It’s an organized mess! Especially my room. I’m clean, but not neat. I really need a cleaning lady. 

Are you in the market for some hired help? 
No, I have a cleaning lady; I’m set for now! But if I didn’t, it would be a total mess. I know where everything is, though…

It’s pretty balmy tonight! What’s the first thing you’ll do when the weather finally turns to spring temps?
Wear flip flops. The best thing in the world is when you can get a pedicure and not have to put your shoes on. 

What do you love most about Carine?
I’ll walk into a shoot, it’ll look super messy—she just has everything in her head, she’s so artistic, and she knows exactly what she wants. The vibe surrounding Carine and the pictures she creates are so amazing. 

Any off-set memories? 
She used to throw dinners at Indochine. [Stops to gratefully take a refill of Veuve. “Sorry, this is very important business.”] Now that Carine has a granddaughter, we’ve been trying to hook her up with my son, who’s 2 years old. 

What would the ideal playdate consist of? 
Probably playing dress up! A little photoshoot could be cute.

Does your son ham it up in front of the camera?
He love to have is photo taken! I get clothes sent to my house and my husband takes pictures of me, to send to my stylist. Now my son will say, ‘Hey, take pictures of me!’ 

Irina Shayk:
How do you know Carine?
Her second issue of CR Fashion Book was actually my first time working with Carine. She’s got amazing style, and she’s Russian, too!

Did you bond over your shared heritage? 
We got along so great because of that—we spoke Russian on set. She speaks it very well, actually. 

There's quite a Russian contingency in fashion, non?
We have a lot of history of powerful Russian women. In the 18^th century, the women were running our country. That’s why Carine is so successful—she’s a strong woman of the Russian blood. 

What’s your favorite Russian food? 
Pelmeni, which are little dumplings. 

Where do you source it in NYC?
I go to Brighton Beach! When I’m in Manhattan, I go to a restaurant called Mari Vanna, on 20^th St. and 5^thAve.