Karl Lagerfeld, surrounded by the five Fendi sisters, heads of the Fendi Italian luxury fashion house. From left to right: Carla and Alda, in the second row Franca, Anna, and Paola. (Photo by Vittoriano Rastelli)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
1983
Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld fits one of his designs on top model Ines de la Fressange at Chloe's Paris studio. (Photo by Pierre Vauthey)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
1984
Karl Lagerfeld with two models (Photo by Keystone)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
1984
Karl Lagerfeld, 1984. (Photo by Jurgen Schadeberg)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
1992
Karl Lagerfeld (L) wrapping his model Claudia Schiffer w. his trademark chains before she enters the runway at the Chanel Spring show. (Photo by Ian Cook)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
1993
Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023, United States
Karl Lagerfeld wearing tuxedo w. large bow tie & holding hand fan, posing w. VOGUE publisher Anna Wintour at the 12th annual Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards ceremony, at Lincoln Ctr. (Photo by Robin Platzer)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
1995
Karl Lagerfeld and models
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2006
New York City, NY, USA
Karl Lagerfeld talks with reporters at the Chanel 2006/2007 Cruise Collection fashion show May 17, 2006, in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2006
Avenue de l'Hippodrome, 75016 Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld and one of his models are seen on the runway at the end of his Chanel Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2006/07 Fashion show during Paris Fashion Week at Pelouse de St Cloud on July 6, 2006, in Paris, France. (Photo by Francois Durand)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2006
Berlin, Germany
Karl Lagerfeld poses during the opening of the "One Man Shown" photography exhibition on November 24, 2006, in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2007
3233 Donald Douglas Loop S, Santa Monica, CA 90405, United States
Karl Lagerfeld and model Claudia Schiffer attend the 2007/8 Chanel Cruise Show Presented By Karl Lagerfeld held at Hangar 8 on May 18, 2007, in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Mark Mainz)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2011
3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld and models walk the runway during the Chanel Ready to Wear Autumn/Winter 2011/2012 show during Paris Fashion Week at Grand Palais on March 8, 2011, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2011
3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2011/2012 show as part of Paris Fashion Week at Grand Palais on July 5, 2011, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2011
11 Rue Berryer, 75008 Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld attends the Hogan by Karl Lagerfeld Ready to Wear Spring / Summer 2012 show and cocktail during Paris Fashion Week at Hotel Salomon de Rothschild on September 30, 2011, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2011
3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel Ready to Wear Spring / Summer 2012 show during Paris Fashion Week at Grand Palais on October 4, 2011, in Paris, France. (Photo by Dominique Charriau)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2012
11 Naitomachi, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0014, Japan
Karl Lagerfeld walks on the runway during the Chanel 2012 Spring/Summer Haute Couture Collection Show at Shinjuku Gyoen Park on March 22, 2012, in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Adam Pretty)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2014
Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld (C) acknowledges the applause of the audience after the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2015 on September 30, 2014, in Paris, France. (Photo by Dominique Charriau)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2014
Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld and model Cara Delevingne appear at the end of the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2014-2015 on March 4, 2014, in Paris, France. (Photo by Francois Durand)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2015
Piazza della Signoria, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Karl Lagerfeld attends the Conde' Nast International Luxury Conference at Palazzo Vecchio on April 22, 2015 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2015
Hyeres, France
Karl Lagerfeld during the opening of the 30th International Festival Of Fashion and Photography on April 23, 2015, in Hyeres, France. (Photo by Patrick Aventurier)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2016
Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 5, 2016, in Paris, France. (Photo by Victor Virgile)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2016
Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2017
3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld and nephew Hudson Kroenig walk the runway during Chanel Cruise 2017/2018 Collection at Grand Palais on May 3, 2017, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2017
Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld acknowledges the audience after the Fendi Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017-2018 show as part of Haute Couture Paris Fashion Week on July 5, 2017, in Paris, France. (Photo by Peter White)
Gallery of Karl Lagerfeld
2018
Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2019 on October 2, 2018, in Paris, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis)
Karl Lagerfeld, surrounded by the five Fendi sisters, heads of the Fendi Italian luxury fashion house. From left to right: Carla and Alda, in the second row Franca, Anna, and Paola. (Photo by Vittoriano Rastelli)
Karl Lagerfeld (L) wrapping his model Claudia Schiffer w. his trademark chains before she enters the runway at the Chanel Spring show. (Photo by Ian Cook)
Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023, United States
Karl Lagerfeld wearing tuxedo w. large bow tie & holding hand fan, posing w. VOGUE publisher Anna Wintour at the 12th annual Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards ceremony, at Lincoln Ctr. (Photo by Robin Platzer)
Karl Lagerfeld and one of his models are seen on the runway at the end of his Chanel Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2006/07 Fashion show during Paris Fashion Week at Pelouse de St Cloud on July 6, 2006, in Paris, France. (Photo by Francois Durand)
Karl Lagerfeld poses during the opening of the "One Man Shown" photography exhibition on November 24, 2006, in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz)
3233 Donald Douglas Loop S, Santa Monica, CA 90405, United States
Karl Lagerfeld and model Claudia Schiffer attend the 2007/8 Chanel Cruise Show Presented By Karl Lagerfeld held at Hangar 8 on May 18, 2007, in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Mark Mainz)
3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld and models walk the runway during the Chanel Ready to Wear Autumn/Winter 2011/2012 show during Paris Fashion Week at Grand Palais on March 8, 2011, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2011/2012 show as part of Paris Fashion Week at Grand Palais on July 5, 2011, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Karl Lagerfeld attends the Hogan by Karl Lagerfeld Ready to Wear Spring / Summer 2012 show and cocktail during Paris Fashion Week at Hotel Salomon de Rothschild on September 30, 2011, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel Ready to Wear Spring / Summer 2012 show during Paris Fashion Week at Grand Palais on October 4, 2011, in Paris, France. (Photo by Dominique Charriau)
11 Naitomachi, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0014, Japan
Karl Lagerfeld walks on the runway during the Chanel 2012 Spring/Summer Haute Couture Collection Show at Shinjuku Gyoen Park on March 22, 2012, in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Adam Pretty)
Karl Lagerfeld (C) acknowledges the applause of the audience after the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2015 on September 30, 2014, in Paris, France. (Photo by Dominique Charriau)
Karl Lagerfeld and model Cara Delevingne appear at the end of the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2014-2015 on March 4, 2014, in Paris, France. (Photo by Francois Durand)
Karl Lagerfeld attends the Conde' Nast International Luxury Conference at Palazzo Vecchio on April 22, 2015 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto)
Karl Lagerfeld during the opening of the 30th International Festival Of Fashion and Photography on April 23, 2015, in Hyeres, France. (Photo by Patrick Aventurier)
Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 5, 2016, in Paris, France. (Photo by Victor Virgile)
Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on October 4, 2016, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris, France
Karl Lagerfeld and nephew Hudson Kroenig walk the runway during Chanel Cruise 2017/2018 Collection at Grand Palais on May 3, 2017, in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Karl Lagerfeld acknowledges the audience after the Fendi Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017-2018 show as part of Haute Couture Paris Fashion Week on July 5, 2017, in Paris, France. (Photo by Peter White)
Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2019 on October 2, 2018, in Paris, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis)
(By first addressing the mental and behavioral causes of v...)
By first addressing the mental and behavioral causes of varying degrees of obesity, this book provides valuable insights and useful tips for preparing the mind and developing the willpower necessary to commit to this diet.
Karl Lagerfeld was a German businessman, fashion designer, artist, and photographer. Lagerfeld won international fame for his work with several Parisian style houses. In addition to his own label, Karl Lagerfeld was a major creative force behind such well-known brands as Tommy Hilfiger, Chanel, and Fendi. He is best known as the creative power behind the modern revival of Chanel, the legendary French fashion house.
Background
Karl Lagerfeld was born on September 10, 1938, in Hamburg, Germany, to Otto Lagerfeldt and Elisabeth Bahlmann. While the famous fashion designer has never revealed the exact date of his birth, it's believed he was born on September 10, 1933. Often lauded for his constant reinvention, he removed the "t" at the end of his last name early in his career in order to make it sound "more commercial."
His father was Swedish, from a merchant banker's family, and made the family fortune by introducing powdered milk to Europe. His elegant and fashionable mother was younger than his father, and she adored fragrances; all qualities that would strongly influence Lagerfeld's life and career.
While Lagerfeld was raised in 1930s Germany, coinciding with Hitler’s rise to power, the Lagerfeldts moved to a rural area of northern Germany, where, as Karl would later claim, he was cut off from any knowledge about the Nazis. But since his father had business interests in the firm Glücksklee-Milch GmbH, his family stayed relatively prosperous through World War II and its aftermath.
Education
Lagerfeld led a sheltered childhood, learning early to speak fluent French, English, and Italian as well as his native German. As a child, he was always interested in fashion and pored over history books more for the costume etchings and descriptions than for the battlefield tales. From an early age, Lagerfeld expressed an interest in design and fashion.
Designing and sketching dresses, he reported, was his favorite childhood pastime. As a child, he often cut out pictures from fashion magazines. He was also known to be critical of what others wore to school. But it wasn't until his teen years after his family had returned to Hamburg, that Lagerfeld immersed himself in the world of high fashion.
When he was just 14, Lagerfeld was sent to Paris to study, but with the underlying intention of getting involved in the world of French haute couture. Lagerfeld studied at a private school and finished his secondary schooling from the famous Lycee Montaigne, where he obtained his majors in history and drawing.
Lagerfeld moved to Paris in 1952. In 1954 he won first prize for his coat design in the French International Wool Secretariat (now the International Woolmark Prize), and in 1955 he was hired by Pierre Balmain, who put his design into production. He took the coveted position, staying there three years, secretly learning all the tricks of the "rag" trade.
Three years later he became artistic director of Jean Patou’s fashion house. He designed haute couture collections for Patou. Lagerfeld worked with Patou until 1963, designing two collections each year. But he grew bored and needed more challenges for his frenzied fashion creativity. The idea of working for several houses appealed to him. So in 1963, as a freelancer, he was designing freelance for a range of companies that included Chloé (whose collections he designed from 1964 to 1983 and again from 1992 to 1997), Krizia, Valentino, and shoemaker Charles Jourdan.
In 1967 he was hired as consultant director by upscale Italian design house Fendi to modernize the company’s fur line. His designs proved groundbreaking. Lagerfeld became known in the fashion industry for his innovative, in-the-moment styles. But Lagerfeld also had an appreciation for the past, and he often shopped in flea markets, finding old wedding dresses to deconstruct and reimagine. He stayed with Fendi throughout his career.
Innovative cuts, high-profile designing, and stylish ensembles made him one of the most sought after names in the world dominated by fashion. His popularity rose to unattained levels with him being tied up with as many as four designers and he was designing men and women’s wear, lingerie, sweater, and shoes simultaneously. Moving between several main collections, Lagerfeld designs with consummate ease, displaying the skills he learned from his couture background in fine tailoring and flashes of surreal detailing. He has functioned best as a catalyst, reinvigorating labels and broadening their customer base.
In 1983 Lagerfeld produced his first couture collection for Chanel, and in 1984, after a year at Chanel, he launched his own eponymous label. During his career, he developed a sort of hired gun reputation for jumping from one label to the next, and also put together a track record of success that few designers can match. At Chanel in the early 1980s, he did what few thought possible: He returned what was perceived to be a near-dead brand back to life with a revamped ready-to-wear fashion line.
In addition to his work for a number of fashion and design houses, Lagerfeld had myriad professional interests. He was an avid photographer. From 1987 on, he photographed many of Chanel’s fashion advertisements, and his work was published in fashion magazines such as British Vogue and Interview. Additionally, he created illustrations for an edition of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes (1992) and created costumes for La Scala in Milan, the Florence opera house, and the Monte Carlo Ballet. His publications include The Karl Lagerfeld Diet (2004; cowritten with his physician, Jean-Claude Houdret), a manual telling of his struggle with weight loss.
Also in 2004, he collaborated with the Swedish multinational retail clothing company, H&M. The brand offered a collection of his clothes for both men and women in certain selected outlets. Almost the entire collection was sold out in just about two days. In 2006, he launched a new specially designed collection of denim wear and fitted T-shirts for both men and women. This exquisite collection was called, K Karl Lagerfeld.
Karl Lagerfeld was the subject of Signé Chanel, a reality television series aired on Sundance Channel in 2006 during the fall season in the United States. Moreover, he is the host of K 109 - The Studio, an imaginary radio channel in Grand Theft Auto IV, a popular video game. In 2010, Lagerfeld was seen in a Volkswagen commercial, in which he played himself. That year, he also designed a special bottle with his image for Coca Cola Light in France.
In 2011 he designed a line of glassware for the Swedish company Orrefors and signed on to create a new clothing collection for Macy's. Next year Karl created a collection of holiday cosmetics for Japanese makeup artist, ShuUemura. That same year he also launched a collection of Suzanne Belperron's pins and brooches. In 2015 he opened up his first Karl Lagerfeld store in Doha, Qatar.
Lagerfeld began slowing down as he advanced into his mid-80s. He sparked concern by not appearing at the end of his Chanel shows in Paris in early 2019, a development the house attributed to his being "tired." Days later, on February 19, 2019, it was announced that the legendary designer had passed away.
(By first addressing the mental and behavioral causes of v...)
2004
design
Karl Lagerfeld
1984
Religion
Despite his family belonged to the Old Catholic Church, Lagerfeld considered himself a polytheist. He once stated: "I’m a polytheist: all present-day religions are recent, but I prefer the Greek and Roman mythology, which does without hell, without sin (an obstacle to happiness), and without forgiveness."
Politics
Lagerfeld was non-political by choice. He said: "I’m in fashion. Politics is not my job. I don’t vote in France even though foreigners here can. I will never vote in my life." Lagerfeld criticized Angela Merkel for opening Germany to migrants. Lagerfeld stated: "One cannot - even if there are decades between them - kill millions of Jews so you can bring millions of their worst enemies in their place."
Views
Despite Lagerfeld’s love of his cat, Choupette, he has drawn the ire of animal rights activists like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for his continued use of fur. While Lagerfeld himself didn't wear fur, nor did he eat meat, he defended the use of fur and leather in fashion. Lagerfeld was the target of a pie-ing by in 2001 at a fashion premiere at Lincoln Center in New York City. Tofu pies were thrown by PETA activists in protest of the use of fur in his collections, but they went astray and ended up hitting Calvin Klein. In more recent years, Lagerfeld changed his mind about the use of fur in fashion. His 2010 collection for Chanel used artificial fur in its designs.
Quotations:
"I'm very much down to earth, just not this earth."
"I am puritan at heart, very much so - probably a self-preservation instinct or something like that. I'm hopelessly strait-laced. I've never drunk alcohol or smoked or took drugs. I've always been a bit of an outsider. That's why it's been easier for me to survive than for some others."
"Fantasy is often better than reality. It’s much more inspiring not to go to places than to go."
Personality
Lagerfeld was an avid reader with an impressive collection that boasted 300,000 books in his personal library. It’s been said that Lagerfeld also had an extensive tech collection that featured 300 iPods, each one programmed with different music.
Lagerfeld abstained from alcohol, claiming that he fell asleep instantly when he drank. He also claimed to stay away from cigarettes because he needed his hands "for sketching," and attributed his ageless skin to washing it every day before bed.
Lagerfeld, who was obsessed with luxury, loved fine automobiles. He has had two cars customized: a Maybach Landaulet, which reportedly cost $1,350,000, and a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, which is an interpretation of the classic 1930s Rolls-Royce design, which cost about the same.
Interests
Photography
Philosophers & Thinkers
Friedrich Nietzsche
Writers
Hans Christian Andersen, Emily Dickinson, Else Laskar Schüler, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Mann
Artists
Constantin Brâncuși
Sport & Clubs
Soccer
Music & Bands
Rufus Wainwright, LCD Soundsystem, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Pipettes, The Boy Least Likely To, Lindstom and Prinz Thomas
Connections
Karl Lagerfeld had a long-term relationship from the early 1970s with socialite Jacques de Bascher (1951-1989) until his death in 1989. However, Lagerfeld claims he and his boyfriend of 18 years never consummated their relationship: he told French journalist Marie Ottavi, "I infinitely loved that boy but I had no physical contact with him. Of course, I was seduced by his physical charm."
Kaiser Karl: The Life of Karl Lagerfeld
An intimate and well-documented biography of Karl Lagerfeld, ex-creative director of Chanel and international fashion icon reveals the man behind the mask: the great couturier, the adorer of women, the unrepentant provocateur.