Sneak Peek: Carine Roitfeld's CR Fashion Book

By Erin Donnelly 04/09/12 at 11:00 AM

Photo courtesy of Women’s Wear Daily

The CR mock-up sees model Kati Nescher posing for lensman Sebastian Faena.

Six weeks away from welcoming her first grandchild, Carine Roitfeld is focused on ushering in another new arrival: her first solo magazine project.

After months of speculation, the former Vogue Paris editor has at last confirmed that the biannual magazine, whose first issue will début in September, will be called CR Fashion Book (CR, for short), a reference to her own initials.

Women's Wear Daily also has a sneak peek of an early mock-up of the magazine, which reveals a topless Kati Nescher in a provocative black-and-white cover shoot with lensman Sebastian Faena, with CR scrawled across the image in blood-red ink.

“The name’s not a big surprise, but oh well,” Roitfeld tells WWD, adding that the magazine, with its spotlight on emerging fashion figures, will be a "celebration of fashion and creativity.

“I’m in the middle of searching for new talents, and it’s so exciting and energizing,” she says, explaining that frequent collaborators like Mario Testino won't be involved because of their contractual obligations to other magazines.

Priced at $9.95, CR will have a 50,000-issue global print run, with 100 of its first issue's 288 pages devoted to advertising. To bolster the magazine's focus on book-like editorial spreads, traditional front-of-book features will be relegated to an online platform, while ads must be presented as spreads.

Issues will be centered around a common theme. In the mock-up, the "Obsession" theme sees topless models gazing at their reflections, while a rare Bruce Weber photograph of rocker Patti Smith in a frilly dress is also included.

Roitfeld, who will also serve as the stylist for the magazine, describes the vibe as "trendy and timeless at the same time,”

Published under the Fashion Media Group (famed for V, Visionaire, and VMan) and operating out of The Standard Hotel in New York City's East Village, CR will feature longer articles written in English, though exceptions will be made for notable contributors writing in their native language.

The CR initials will run at the top of each page, while sections such as Icons, Muses, Skincare, and Fitness will have handwritten titles.

And though it's just been announced that she will be the subject of her own documentary, shot by Fabien Constant and expected to hit screens in 2013, Roitfeld is quick to dismiss claims that she's looking to compete with Vogue or Anna Wintour.

"Vogue is a very beautiful magazine, an institution, and I learned so much working there,” she says. “You can’t put yourself into competition with a magazine like Vogue; you have to create something new, something different.

“The page has been turned. It’s time to find something new, something fresh—for me and for the readers ... I find that some people in fashion are so blasé. Fashion has to be fun."

Can't wait to get this party started...