Charlotte Casiraghi

[adorefaith]

^ I agree...completely disappointing. it's like they're trying to tap into every 6 yr old's fantasy....mummy, i want to have a pony, be pretty and i want prince charming to find me. never mind that 6 year old's (hopefully) grow out of that and don't read Vogue.. what an insult to any half intelligent woman reading.

i wonder if that's what she has faced her whole life... just trying to paddle against her famous family, her looks and her social circle. She can't really control any of that... shame they don't highlight what she is actually doing as a grown woman who can make her own decisions. (they dedicated about one line to her environmentalist efforts and the eco-magazine).

 

[MiuMiuLove]

^ yeah I noticed the one line about the magazine too. I feel like they could have added a lot more about that, unless Charlotte didn't want to talk about it, but I don't know why she wouldn't. I don't know if she didn't give them enough to work with, or if the interviewer just didn't do a very good job. But honestly I wasn't expecting any text at all. I assumed it would just be pictures because Charlotte is so private, so even to have just a little article is better than nothing imo.

 

[eternitygoddess]

I've always found it puzzling why the daughters of so many wealthy families (esp. the Eurojetset crowd) have the same type of "profession". Nearly every time I read a feature on one of these girls, the girl is 1) involved in the art/fashion world being curators, advisers, Vogue editors, art gallery owners, filmmakers, and such, and/or 2) do some philanthropy that involves sitting on the board of some foundation and attending black-tie galas.

Their professions are always so..."artsy" and "fluffy". I rarely have seen anyone pursue a "hard" or "technical" profession (aka. any profession that requires lots time and effort spent studying). Ex: mathematicians / engineers / economists / lawyers / scientists.

Just taking a short look at the new Eurojetset crowd - Charlotte Casiraghi rides horses and is "involved" in an eco magazine; Dasha Zhukova is the editor of a fashion magazine and has opened an art museum using her boyfriend's money; Eugenie Niarchos is a jewelry designer; Charlotte Dellal is a shoe designer; Margeritha Missioni is a "family brand ambassador"; Tatiana Santo Domingo does god-knows-what; Lauren Santo Domingo is a Vogue contributor.

At this point I'm wondering - is it because the families raise the girls that way and point them on this path? Are they encouraged to pursue something other than art and horses?

 

[Harumi]

MiuMiuLove, thank you so much! I was waiting for this.

eternitygoddess, I find your statement quite unfair.

First, the glamour 'Niarchios/Brandolini/etc.' crowd is not representative of the rich kids set as a whole. More heirs than you would think have an Ivanka Trump kind of career (i.e. they work for the family firm or in prestigious companies at executive positions).
They don't usually get featured in publications like Vogue or on gossip websites because they don't seek publicity and/or they are not really that exciting or interesting. Think of a girl like Holly Branson (a doctor who now works for her father), who is extremely private and only get press because she is friends with Prince William.

Second, as far as being 'fluffy' is concerned Charlotte and Dasha are really not good examples.
Charlotte got an A average at her A levels (very difficult to achieve in France) and after that when to an elite preparatory school for a two years cursus (called Khâgne/Hypokhâgne). These schools are very intense: it's not like university where you can idle away, it's two years of very hard work, 6 days a week, as they prepare for one of the most difficult exam in the French superior education (the one to enter the 'Ecole Normale Superieur' which forms university professors and researchers). She failed the entry test (most people have to take it twice because it's so hard) and after that she decided to do other things. Even though she has given up academics, it's very clear she's that she's a very bright girl who isn't afraid of hard work.
Dasha was a pre-med student for a few years and she is a university graduate (afaik in Russian literature). I don't think she's dumb or lazy either.

Thrid, it should not be surprising than many people who don't have to worry about money choose fun and interesting creative occupations, as I suspect most people would if they could be whatever they wanted.
A lot of the 'serious' professions you mentioned are very tedious unless you have a strong passion for the topic or if you are a genius in that particular area. I don't agree either with the idea that because something is artsy then it's easy. Being successful in a creative venture is much harder than being a good accountant, for example.
These girls don't have to worry about paying the bills so they choose to do stuff that make them happy and are passionate about. For girls like Eugenie or Gia it's Jewelry design, for Ivanka it's real-estate, etc.
It's not a case of being shallow or lazy, imo.

 

[chic stranger]

quite a shallow article, too bad they didn't give us a better insight on her life (and I don't mean friends, boyfriends, etc) they could have gone deeper into her riding and this eco projects that she's working on. It could have been such a great article and a deeper look into a person who we never hear from personally in interviews. I was surprised to read that she speaks three languages, from what other people stated I thought she spoke four or more.

 

[Ashcottmanor]

quite a shallow article, too bad they didn't give us a better insight on her life (and I don't mean friends, boyfriends, etc) they could have gone deeper into her riding and this eco projects that she's working on. It could have been such a great article and a deeper look into a person who we never hear from personally in interviews. I was surprised to read that she speaks three languages, from what other people stated I thought she spoke four or more.

I totally agree, well said Chic Stranger it was a nice enough article but very shallow and not enough depth, for such a talked about woman, they sure didn't dig deep at all.

 

[McClaire]

I was more disappointed with the fact that she doesn't even have that many quotes. A few at best and then it's just the writer going on about how pretty she is. Just seemed unprofessional then anything else. The part were she is featured with Prince Charles where they say to spotlight their admirable eco stances, so one sentence is a spotlight? I wonder how much of Prince Charles article was focused on his looks. Sorry but this wreaks of sexism. If they were going to sell this as a "she so pretty" article then fine but they specifically say it's about her eco friendly work and they mention one sentence, what a load.
I wonder if this was even a legit interview or they were photographing her and they weren't allowed to talk to her for a real interview so the few quotes they got from her were maybe small talk and they printed and the rest they "filled" up the article with? I love seeing Charlotte in equestrian gear and all but I wish they got her sitting on sofa in some chic clothing or something. Something I haven't seen for the past few months.

 

[Empress Merel]

The article annoyed me aswell. I wish they asked her more deep stuff. Not just how clever her horse is or how her boyfriend is called. (just like Charlotte said; look him up on the internet)

The photos are beautiful, but the article is a fail.

 

[Mrs.Smith]

I can imagine the article is like that because she wants to protect her privacy. Totally agree with you, the article says almost nothing, but maybe thats what she wanted.... And with privacy I dont mean talking about her relationship etc, but talking about anything that reveals what kind of person she really is.

I must say, I sort of agree with eternitygoddess, sorry! whenever I read that a society girl was horseback riding and involved in art or fashion business I'm a little - well - bored. I have said something like this before here and therefore got accused of not valuing creative, art work. That's so wrong!! It's just, these girls have all the connections, it's like no effort at all for them to get those jobs. They dont need any sort of education or training. Moreover I'm wondering how much of the work they are actually doing, I believe many of them just give their names. Dont think they really put much effort into what they are doing, which I find a little sad. Those "jobs" rather look like hobbies to me. I dont think that earning a living is the only reason for having a job that requires a lot of work. I know lots of children of very rich families (rich but not celebrity jet set famous) who are working hard, to achieve their own thing. I really wish there were more jet-set girls like the Trump girl!
To come back to Charlotte: I think failing that exam must have been very hard for her... regardless of how much money her family has.

And someone here mentioned the languages: I dont think the article says she was speaking "only" those 3, but rather that she's speaking those fluently. I'm pretty sure she also speaks some German and probably also learned other languages at school.

 

[StyleIsInUs]

I don't get it, Caroline, back then a HSH Princess of Monaco, would occassionally say something about herself, family etc, and Charlotte practically with no title can't really be more frank here ...

 

[LUXXX]

So surprised she actually sat for a photo session and interview for a major magazine, but let's get real...Vogue is not Vanity Fair. They do fluff.

Still, she seems rather open and only avoided her personal life, which is understandable. I wished they would've got a quote from her about Grace. I'm so curious what she thinks of her grandmother's film career.

 

[Mrs.Smith]

^ One could say that it was just the other way round, if you're carrying a title you somehow belong to your people and therefore are a less private person than a commoner. I think that revealing a lot about herself doesnt fit into Charlottes way of handling the media so far and might be an obstacle to going on like that (= suing magazines which are writing things she doesnt like). I think Caroline stopped speaking with the media and thereby using them for her own interests after some incident - not sure what it was, maybe after she lost her hair...

 

[LUXXX]

Cathy Horyn, predictably, is not a fan of Charlotte in Vogue:

http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/big-sisters/

 

[eternitygoddess]

I must say, I sort of agree with eternitygoddess, sorry! whenever I read that a society girl was horseback riding and involved in art or fashion business I'm a little - well - bored. I have said something like this before here and therefore got accused of not valuing creative, art work. That's so wrong!! It's just, these girls have all the connections, it's like no effort at all for them to get those jobs. They dont need any sort of education or training. Moreover I'm wondering how much of the work they are actually doing, I believe many of them just give their names. Dont think they really put much effort into what they are doing, which I find a little sad. Those "jobs" rather look like hobbies to me. I dont think that earning a living is the only reason for having a job that requires a lot of work. I know lots of children of very rich families (rich but not celebrity jet set famous) who are working hard, to achieve their own thing. I really wish there were more jet-set girls like the Trump girl!

Exactly the point I was trying to get at.

Thrid, it should not be surprising than many people who don't have to worry about money choose fun and interesting creative occupations, as I suspect most people would if they could be whatever they wanted.
A lot of the 'serious' professions you mentioned are very tedious unless you have a strong passion for the topic or if you are a genius in that particular area. I don't agree either with the idea that because something is artsy then it's easy. Being successful in a creative venture is much harder than being a good accountant, for example.
These girls don't have to worry about paying the bills so they choose to do stuff that make them happy and are passionate about. For girls like Eugenie or Gia it's Jewelry design, for Ivanka it's real-estate, etc.

This could be the case. However, I wonder if many of these girls really serious about it as a profession, or if it is just another passing "hobby" for them that they dabble with and then tell magazines that they're serious about. I've lost count of how many of them are "handbag" or "clothing" or "jewelry" designers. ALL of them are involved in "philanthropy", doing what I don't know exactly.

The profiles of these girls are starting to look identical to each other.

First, the glamour 'Niarchios/Brandolini/etc.' crowd is not representative of the rich kids set as a whole. More heirs than you would think have an Ivanka Trump kind of career (i.e. they work for the family firm or in prestigious companies at executive positions).
They don't usually get featured in publications like Vogue or on gossip websites because they don't seek publicity and/or they are not really that exciting or interesting. Think of a girl like Holly Branson (a doctor who now works for her father), who is extremely private and only get press because she is friends with Prince William.

This may be a legit point.

 

[Empress Merel]

Cathy Horyn, predictably, is not a fan of Charlotte in Vogue:

http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/big-sisters/

Cathy Horyn reads what she wants to read. Everybody who knows just a little about Charlotte knows that her boyfriend is Alex Dellal who owns a gallery in London. It's such a waste of paper and a wasted opportunity to just ask her boyfriends name. I don't find it snotty at all. You don't ask Princess Beatrice the name of her boyfriend because you should already know it. It's called research in the art of journalism. And about the Monaco Blue Blood; well, it's true isn't it?

 

[loladonna]

It is rather snotty to tell a reporter to go look up your boyfriend's last name on the internet. It comes across rather condescending and conceited as it implies that Charlotte feels everyone should already know her boyfriend's name. She's doing an interview with an American publication and quite frankly the average American has no idea who Charlotte is let alone her boyfriend.

 

[Harumi]

Cathy Horyn, predictably, is not a fan of Charlotte in Vogue

Well, I agree with Cathy. That part struck me as rude and supercilious as well.
It's no surprise the article so empty if that's the kind of answer they got whenever they tried to scratch under the surface.
I know she was there to promote Gucci and not herself but if you're so paranoid about your privacy, don't do a Vogue portrait in the first place.

It's just, these girls have all the connections, it's like no effort at all for them to get those jobs. They don't need any sort of education or training. Moreover I'm wondering how much of the work they are actually doing, I believe many of them just give their names.

Oh, I totally agree about the nepotism part.
But the career of Ivanka is also a blatant case of nepotism yet people respect her because she chose business ('serious') instead of the arts ('fluffy'). Gaia Repossi also got her job thanks to her name and I would argue that her ventures are far more successful than Ivanka's so far, yet she doesn't command the same respect.
Margerita Missoni is training at the Missoni factory, Dasha (by her own admission) is surrounding herself with more knowledgeable people than her to advise her and learn from them (both at the Garage and at POP, where she is doing a fantastic job, imo), etc. As for Charlotte, she has referred to her horse jumping competitions as a passion, not a job. However, this is a passion that require many hours of training and you can't name-drop your way to the top of this sport.

Then of course there are the dilettantes like Eugenie, but the point is that just because they have huge privileges it doesn't necessarily mean they aren't serious about their responsibilities.

I really wish there were more jet-set girls like the Trump girl!

There are. You just don't hear about them.

ALL of them are involved in "philanthropy", doing what I don't know exactly.

Sitting on charity committee is something high society ladies have been doing for as long as charity balls/parties have existed. Nobody would ever call it a job.

 

[Boomer]

It is rather snotty to tell a reporter to go look up your boyfriend's last name on the internet. It comes across rather condescending and conceited as it implies that Charlotte feels everyone should already know her boyfriend's name. She's doing an interview with an American publication and quite frankly the average American has no idea who Charlotte is let alone her boyfriend.

That struck me as very rude- I was surprised, she knows better than that...

 

[Empress Merel]

I'm sorry but I just don't agree, if a journalist does that with an athlete or celeb, asking such a random question he/she should already know, the journalist would have been slammed.

 

[Mrs.Smith]

I think she was just trying to stress that she didnt want to speak about her relationship, but when I read it, I also was like .... Sure an interviewer must know things like that, but still, who is she, specially in America. And good manners also mean that one has to stay polite and act as if nothing happened after his counterpart made a mistake like that.