Julia Restoin Roitfeld

Julia Restoin Roitfeld – Life, Career, and Memorable Quotes

Explore the life of Julia Restoin Roitfeld — French creative director, model, and designer — from her Paris upbringing and fashion family to her ventures in motherhood, art direction, and style. Discover her philosophy and favorite quotes.

Introduction

Julia Restoin Roitfeld (born November 12, 1980) is a French creative director, designer, and former model whose style, projects, and creative sensibility bridge art, fashion, and motherhood.

Though often called a “model,” Julia’s identity is much more expansive — she runs lifestyle platforms, consults in branding, designs collections, and crafts a visual world around her tastes.

Early Life and Family

Julia was born in Paris, France to Carine Roitfeld, the iconic fashion editor and former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, and Christian Restoin, founder of the fashion brand Equipment. Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, who is an art dealer.

Her childhood included studies in piano, dance, and horseback riding, and she gained early exposure to fashion: at age 14 she secured an internship at The Face magazine.

Her parents’ worlds — her mother’s high fashion and her father’s design and business orientation — provided a rich creative and entrepreneurial backdrop.

Education & Formative Years

Julia attended Parsons Paris before transferring to Parsons School of Design in New York City, where she graduated in 2006 with a BBA in Design Management.

Her education gave her both design grounding and a business framework to build her own creative ventures rather than exclusively modeling.

Career and Achievements

Modeling & Brand Collaborations

Julia has worked with top fashion houses and brands as a model and brand ambassador. According to her modeling profile, she has done campaigns for Tom Ford – Black Orchid, Givenchy, Mango, Lancôme, Tom Ford Eyewear, Barneys New York, Gap, and others.

In 2006, she was chosen as the face of Tom Ford’s Black Orchid fragrance.

She has also served as consultant or collaborator for fashion labels including Peter Som, Zac Posen, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Miu Miu.

She has been ambassador for brands like Mango and Accessorize.

Beyond modeling, she has designed a lingerie collection for Kiki de Montparnasse.

Creative Direction & Lifestyle Ventures

Julia is known more now as a creative director and lifestyle tastemaker than purely a model.

She founded Romy & The Bunnies, an online site focused on fashion, motherhood, beauty, and lifestyle, blending her aesthetics with her life as a mother.

Another platform she launched is Less Is More, which she describes as “a glamorous approach to a minimal and more sustainable lifestyle.”

Julia also designs and collaborates on fashion and children’s collections; for example, she collaborated with River Island on children’s wear influenced by the clothing she recalls from her mother.

Her projects meld beauty, family, and creative expression, emphasizing that motherhood need not eclipse one’s style or vision.

Personal Life

Julia has two children:

• Daughter Romy Nicole, born May 2012 with her former partner Robert Konjic.

• Son George, born in February 2022, with her partner Tim Wheeler, whom she has been with since around 2018.

Julia splits her time between New York City and London, while maintaining connections with Paris.

She has spoken candidly about balancing motherhood and her creative ambitions, rejecting the notion that having a child means sidelining one’s career.

Style, Aesthetic & Philosophy

Julia’s visual world is characterized by a blend of elegant minimalism, timeless details, and personal storytelling. Her taste reflects her French roots and an understated refinement, but she often layers meaning — through heirlooms, collected jewelry, or quiet personal touches.

She has spoken about how jewelry in her life isn’t just ornamental — it carries narratives: pieces from family, travels, memories.

Her approach to motherhood is that style and motherhood can coexist — that mothers need not abandon what makes them feel beautiful or expressive.

In interviews, she describes her “job description” as “a whole universe created around the things I like,” meaning her work is a continual act of curating a life as much as a brand.

Notable Quotes by Julia Restoin Roitfeld

Here are some memorable remarks attributed to her, reflecting her sensibility:

“If a French woman wears jeans, it's never with flats — always heels.” “You don't have to wait for your career to take off to become a mum … Becoming a mum made me even more driven … you can do it all.” “Having a manicure pulls a look together. Hands are the first thing people see after your face.” “When I wear jewelry it needs to really mean something.” “I collect jewelry for a story — something I got on a trip or from my family.” “I hate picking out outfits for events … always something easy.”

These quotes highlight her preference for meaning, simplicity, and integrating personal narrative into style.

Lessons from Julia Restoin Roitfeld

1. Own a multidimensional identity.
   Rather than be just “model,” Julia expanded into creative direction, design, and business — resisting being boxed into one role.

2. Infuse personal meaning into design.
   She values jewelry, objects, and clothing that tell stories, not just look beautiful.

3. Motherhood need not diminish ambition.
   Her work shows that raising children and growing a creative practice can be interwoven, not mutually exclusive.

4. Start from your own life.
   Her projects (Romy & The Bunnies, children’s wear lines) originate from her lived experience, giving authenticity and coherence.

5. Cultivate visual consistency.
   Her aesthetic across platforms, home, and visuals is coherent — a reminder that creatives benefit from having a signature mood or style.

Conclusion

Julia Restoin Roitfeld is a compelling example of a modern creative who defies simplistic categories. Born into fashion royalty in Paris, educated in New York, she has crafted a path that combines modeling, design, motherhood, and curatorial vision. Her work invites the idea that life and style can be seamless, that personal meaning can live in objects, and that ambition can evolve rather than overwhelm.