EXCLUSIVE: Carine Roitfeld Reveals Why Print Media Will Always Survive
“I remember seeing you outside. I like your shirt”, Carine Roitfeld told me as we sat, almost side by side, to pick her brain on the Singapore exhibit she helped curate. Anyone could have stuttered their way through her compliment, and it’s understandable: she is, after all, the Carine Roitfeld. The nation got a taste of Dior’s legendary craft through the minds of the legendary fashion editor as well as visionary photographer Brigitte Niedermair. If Dior’s eight-decade history has taught us anything, it’s that couture is never just clothes, but storytelling, politics, and a little bit of mischief. For this exhibition, that philosophy wasn’t just preserved—it was amplified.
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Archival Reverie
When asked which Dior collections were non-negotiables for Singapore, Roitfeld didn’t blink. “Everything we show, there is something I prefer,” she said, with a sly smile that suggests she owns a few secrets we’ll never fully unearth. But she couldn’t hide her love for early Dior collaborations—“with Mr. Saint Laurent as his first assistant,” she reminded us—and, of course, John Galliano, the enfant terrible who made fashion a theater of freedom. “I like when fashion is telling stories,” she added, because if you can’t read a gown like a novel, what are you even doing?
For the Singapore exhibition hosted by UBS: House of Craft, the first in Asia after the debut in New York, each of Dior’s seven creative directors has their own room, thus their own interpretation of the Maison. From Christian Dior’s visionary beginnings to Yves Saint Laurent’s sharp debut, Marc Bohan’s elegant restraint, Gianfranco Ferré’s architectural precision, John Galliano’s fantastical narratives, Raf Simons’ intellectual minimalism, and Maria Grazia Chiuri’s modern feminism—every space becomes a chance to see how each visionary left their mark.
Her vision for the exhibition was reverent. “Mostly, fashion exhibitions look a bit dusty,” she admitted. “We wanted to give modernity, even to looks that are 80 years old.” With Niedermair by her side, Roitfeld reanimated them. Hair, styling, the tiniest details—adornments and signals that showcase how these pieces could be worn today, by anyone daring enough to do it justice.
The shoot itself was another focal point. Niedermair recalls the adrenaline: “It came out so quickly together.” The whirlwind was part of the magic, capturing the transition between designers, the impermanence of moments, and the thrill of having freedom to imagine.
“Normally they are tied up in a box,” Roitfeld laughed. “We could put the light again on them… we are very lucky just to look at them.” Gloves on, hearts racing, history in their hands.
Gowns Like Novels
And what about freedom? In a world increasingly bound by metrics, algorithms, and KPIs, both women lamented how creativity is hemmed in. But with Dior, they found playgrounds instead of cages. “Of course, we respect Mr. Dior… but we have a lot of freedom even to mix the clothes for the hair,” Roitfeld said. Niedermair added, “It was amazing, beautiful dresses. A highlight.”
Of course, this required a wink to the tactile magic of print—a medium both women revere, even if short-form videos try to rewrite the rules. Niedermair is unashamed: quality still matters. “The higher quality you go, the more people are attracted,” she said. And Roitfeld, ever the philosopher of fashion media, called print “almost like a book. Not a magazine. You preserve, you give importance to each story. Photography becomes artwork, fashion becomes art piece.” Translation: your coffee table deserves better than flimsy fluff; it deserves a Dior page-turner.
“Print will survive with a good story,” she insists, almost theatrically, as if daring Instagram to compete. She’s not talking about monthly issues with quick-turn trends; she’s talking coffee-table reverence, the kind of print you want to feel with your hands. “It has to be a pleasure to turn a page, to look, to linger…” she adds, eyes twinkling at the idea of a magazine elevated into an experience.
Digital may be fleeting, but print, when done with care and vision, invites contemplation and stakes its claim as a permanent record of craft and creativity. For Roitfeld, print and its authors should find new ground—in page-turns that are an event, photographs are statements, and words are influential. In its careful pacing, fashion finds room to matter in ways fleeting pixels never could.
A Dance of Minds
But perhaps the real power lies in their partnership. Two women, different but profoundly complementary, speaking the language of playful provocation. Niedermair said, “You have to profoundly like each other. Then you are profoundly different. That’s already a base.” Roitfeld tried to bring the idea out, “It’s something on the skin. You cannot explain it.” Together, they push boundaries without tipping into kitsch, turning what could have been dusty Dior nostalgia into something alive and entirely now.
For those visiting the New Art Museum Singapore, the exhibition is a masterclass in narrative, craft, and collaboration. For those watching from afar, it’s a reminder that fashion is meant not only to be worn, but to be understood, dissected, and occasionally revered—with a touch of irreverence. If you know, you know. And if you don’t… well, now you do.
The exhibit is open and free to the public from November 21 – 23 at the New Art Museum Singapore
Photos courtesy of UBA: HOUSE OF CRAFT
The post EXCLUSIVE: Carine Roitfeld Reveals Why Print Media Will Always Survive first appeared on MEGA.
EXCLUSIVE: Carine Roitfeld Reveals Why Print Media Will Always Survive
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