Karl Lagerfeld

1.1. Birth and family background

Karl Otto Lagerfeld was born on 10 September 1933, in Hamburg, Germany, to Elisabeth (née Bahlmann) and Otto Lagerfeld. Despite his later public claims of being born in 1938 or 1935, official birth announcements from his parents in 1933 and baptismal records in Hamburg confirm his birth year as 1933. His death record also confirmed this date. Lagerfeld was known to misrepresent his birth year, stating he was "born neither in 1933 nor 1938" during a French television interview in 2009. He also claimed to be born to "Elisabeth of Germany" and Otto Ludwig Lagerfeldt from Sweden, assertions later disproven as his parents were entirely German, with no Swedish connection.

His father, Otto Lagerfeld, came from a family of wealthy wine merchants and was a successful businessman and polyglot, reportedly speaking nine languages. He owned an import company, Lagerfeld & Co., specializing in evaporated milk, and collaborated with the American dairy company Carnation. During his travels, Otto Lagerfeld was present during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, escaping unharmed. A fluent speaker of Russian, his father had even attempted to gain Russian citizenship at the start of World War I, leading to an accusation of espionage and a three-year prison term in Vladivostok, eventually returning to Germany after the Russian Revolution in 1917. Karl's maternal grandfather, Karl Bahlmann, was a local politician for the Catholic Centre Party. The family belonged to the Old Catholic Church. When Lagerfeld's mother met his father, she was a lingerie saleswoman from Berlin. His parents married in 1930.

Lagerfeld had an older sister, Martha Christiane "Christel," born in 1931, and an older half-sister, Theodora Dorothea "Thea," from his father's first marriage. His family name was originally spelled Lagerfeldt (with a "t"), but he adopted the spelling Lagerfeld, believing it to "sound more commercial." His family was largely shielded from the deprivations of World War II due to his father's membership in the Nazi party and his business interests in Germany through the firm Glücksklee-Milch GmbH.

1.2. Childhood and education

As a child, Lagerfeld displayed a significant interest in the visual arts. Former schoolmates recalled him constantly sketching, regardless of classroom activities. Lagerfeld often stated in interviews that he learned far more from frequent visits to the Kunsthalle Hamburg museum than he ever did in school. He studied fashion at a school run by the Paris Haute Couture Syndicate. His classmates included Yves Saint Laurent, who hailed from Algeria, and Chie Koike from Japan.

2.1. Early career (1954-1982)

In 1954, Lagerfeld began his fashion career by submitting a dress design to the International Wool Secretariat's design competition. His entry prefigured the chemise dresses that would be introduced by Hubert de Givenchy and Cristobal Balenciaga three years later. In 1955, he won the coat category of another IWS competition. During this time, he befriended fellow winner Yves Saint Laurent and was subsequently hired by Pierre Balmain, one of the competition judges. Lagerfeld worked as Balmain's assistant and later apprentice for three years.

In 1957, Lagerfeld became the artistic director for Jean Patou, where he designed approximately 60 haute couture pieces twice a year for five years. He credited the Patou maison with teaching him extensively about fabrics and technical aspects of design. His first collection, unveiled in July 1958 under the name Roland Karl, was initially met with mixed reviews; fashion journalists described it as a "press booed" collection and as designs that "ignored the flow of last year's sack-shaped forms." Lagerfeld described the silhouette of this debut collection as resembling the letter "K": a straight front line, a curve at the back of the waist, and a long skirt. His 1960 spring season skirt was notably the shortest in Paris that year, but critics still deemed his collections more suitable for ready-to-wear than haute couture. Lagerfeld recounted a period of discouragement, saying he felt "fed up, quit, and wanted to go back to school, but it didn't work out. So I spent the next two years mostly on the beach. I think I learned about life there."

In 1962, Lagerfeld left Jean Patou to become one of the first designers to successfully work as a freelance designer, a practice that later became more common in the industry. During the 1960s, he freelanced for various brands, including Charles Jourdan, Chloé, Krizia, and Valentino. In 1963, he began designing for Tiziani, an Italian brand founded in Rome by American Evan Richards. There, he worked on haute couture and later ready-to-wear, collaborating with Richards on the first collection. Their clientele included notable figures like Elizabeth Taylor, Gina Lollobrigida, and Doris Duke. Lagerfeld continued designing for Tiziani until 1969. Around 1970, he also began designing for the Roman haute couture house Curiel after its founder, Gigliola Curiel, passed away, with his first collection described as "dripping elegance," reminiscent of designs for 1930s screen stars. In the 1970s, he designed stage costumes, including work for Milan's La Scala. By the 1980s, he signed various design contracts, including with Isetan in Japan, producing around 30 pieces for men and women, and designing lingerie, shoes, and sweaters for American companies.

In the mid-1970s, Lagerfeld contributed to the emerging "Big Look" or "Soft Look" in fashion. He eliminated linings, padding, and even hemming from voluminous, thin-fabric garments, including furs for Fendi, to create an unencumbered, comfortable, layered style that became dominant in high fashion during that decade. After perfecting this style, which he believed was progressive, he made an abrupt shift in 1978. He joined other designers in presenting heavily constructed, huge-shouldered, more restrictive looks that would characterize the 1980s. His designs featured immense shoulder pads, stiffly constructed suits with padded lampshade peplums, padded busts and hips, impractically tight skirts, awkwardly high spike heels, hats, gloves, and even boned corsets. His work during this period, with its exaggerated retro 1940s-50s silhouette, was often compared to that of Thierry Mugler. Throughout both his mid-seventies Soft Look phase and his late seventies-eighties big-shoulders phase, Lagerfeld's enduring fascination with the 18th century was frequently visible in his collections.

2.2. Work at major fashion houses

Karl Lagerfeld's innovative work significantly impacted prominent fashion houses such as Chloé and Fendi, redefining their aesthetics and commercial success.

In 1964, Lagerfeld began working as a freelance designer for Chloé, initially designing a few pieces per season before gradually taking on full collections. He became the sole designer for the brand in 1974. His work for Chloé in the 1970s established him as one of the world's most prominent designers, often seen as a rival to Yves Saint Laurent in terms of influence. He continued this collaboration until 1978 and later returned to Chloé from 1992 to 1997.

In 1965, Lagerfeld started designing for the Italian fur fashion house Fendi. His mandate was to modernize their fur line, and he introduced innovative changes such as incorporating less expensive furs like rabbit and squirrel pelts into high fashion and launching a ready-to-wear line. He also designed the brand's iconic double F logo, which reportedly stood for "Fun Fur." Lagerfeld remained with Fendi until his death in 2019, a tenure spanning over 50 years.

2.3. Revitalization of Chanel (1982-2000)

In 1982, Karl Lagerfeld signed a contract with Chanel, taking on the role of artistic director for its couture division in 1983 and then ready-to-wear in 1984. At the time of his appointment, Chanel was considered a "near-dead brand," facing decline after the death of its founder, Coco Chanel, in 1971. The situation was so dire that some even claimed "Chanel would go back to the grave." Many of Lagerfeld's friends advised him against accepting the offer, as reviving a struggling heritage brand was not a common practice then. Despite the initial reluctance, Lagerfeld accepted Chanel's second offer.

Under his leadership, Lagerfeld brought new life and immense success back to the company. He revamped its ready-to-wear line and extensively integrated Coco Chanel's interlocked "CC" monogram into the brand's style patterns. He also significantly altered the Chanel silhouette, which had largely remained consistent since the early 1960s. Lagerfeld's changes included padding the shoulders, shortening and tightening skirts (often to an above-the-knee level, a controversial move given Coco Chanel's disapproval of short skirts), elevating heels, and enlarging or miniaturizing jewelry and purses. These changes, though initially seen as controversial and even a "parody" by some critics who felt they "vulgarized" the classic Chanel look, ultimately made the brand relevant and highly successful in the 1980s. It is believed that these changes were influenced by Hervé Léger, a Lagerfeld protégé, who led a design team at Chanel in 1982, the year before Lagerfeld officially took the helm.

Lagerfeld's successful revitalization of Chanel established a new paradigm in the fashion industry: the revival of venerable fashion houses by dynamic designers. This approach was subsequently emulated by other brands, such as Bernard Arnault bringing Gianfranco Ferré to Christian Dior in 1989 and Tom Ford transforming Gucci in 1990. Lagerfeld continued to thrive in the 1980s' climate of historical revivals, incorporating elements from 1940s-50s styles, 1950s pouf skirts, and even 1860s crinolines and hoops, often in showgirl-short versions, for both his namesake line and Chanel. In 1986, he notably shifted away from broad shoulders by moving pads to the outside of the hips, signaling a new structural direction in fashion.

2.4. Karl Lagerfeld (brand)

In 1984, a year after starting his work at Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld launched his eponymous "Karl Lagerfeld" brand, with a primary focus on ready-to-wear clothing. The brand's aesthetic was intended to channel "intellectual sexiness."

Initially, Lagerfeld had an agreement with Bidermann Industries USA, granting them ownership and licensing rights to his fashion labels. However, this agreement concluded in 1989, the same year he introduced two menswear lines for his brand. The Lagerfeld label was subsequently acquired by the Cora Revillon Group, which had previously secured an agreement to manufacture and market Karl Lagerfeld-branded products.

In 1992, Dunhill Holdings, part of the Vendôme Luxury Group, purchased the Karl Lagerfeld brand from Cora-Revillon for an estimated 30.00 M USD. This acquisition was part of an agreement for Lagerfeld to return to designing for Chloé. Vendôme retained ownership for five years, until 1997, when they sold the brand back to Lagerfeld for a "symbolic one franc" following the conclusion of his contract with Chloé. Lagerfeld stated that Vendôme "had not hired the right people to manage it."

2.5. Later career (2001-2019)

Karl Lagerfeld's later career was marked by continued innovation in fashion, successful collaborations, and numerous accolades, showcasing his remarkable versatility.

In December 2006, Lagerfeld launched a new collection for men and women called K Karl Lagerfeld, which featured fitted T-shirts and a wide array of jeans. In September 2010, the Couture Council of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology presented Lagerfeld with a specially created accolade, The Couture Council Fashion Visionary Award, during a luncheon at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. In November 2010, Lagerfeld and Swedish crystal manufacturer Orrefors announced a collaboration to design a crystal art collection, with the first line, "Orrefors by Karl Lagerfeld," launching in spring 2011.

In 2012, Lagerfeld released his photo-book The Little Black Jacket, featuring 113 portraits of entertainers, models, and friends adorned in the iconic Chanel jacket. In 2014, Palm Beach Modern Auctions announced the sale of many of Lagerfeld's early sketches for the House of Tiziani in Rome. Lagerfeld was widely praised for his "chameleon-like versatility" by designers like Anna Sui and Clare Waight Keller, as his designs consistently adapted to the specific aesthetic of each fashion house he worked for. In November 2015, Lagerfeld received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the British Fashion Awards, presented by Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue. In 2017, he was honored with the John B. Fairchild Award from Women's Wear Daily.

3.1. Photography and publishing

Lagerfeld embraced photography in 1987, driven by frustration with the quality of images produced for Chanel press kits. Encouraged by Chanel's then-image director, Éric Pfrunder, Lagerfeld decided to photograph them himself, transforming photography into a significant passion alongside his design work. He went on to shoot commercial fashion campaigns, editorial spreads for magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, V, and Numéro, as well as architectural and landscape pieces. He famously described himself as "an illustrator with a camera" at a 2010 exhibition of his work.

In 1994, the German publishing house Steidl released Off the Record, a collection of Lagerfeld's photography. Steidl became his long-term collaborator, publishing dozens of his photo collections. Notable works include The Little Black Jacket (2012), which featured 113 portraits of models and entertainers wearing the iconic Chanel jacket, and Karl Lagerfeld: Casa Malaparte (2015), documenting the Italian Modernist architectural monument.

In 1999, Lagerfeld opened 7L, a bookshop in Paris specializing in photography collections and visual arts books. The following year, in collaboration with Steidl, he launched a publishing imprint, Editions 7L, which released books on fashion and photography and republished rare and out-of-print titles. After his death, the 7L bookshop was reconceptualized as a space for cultural events. In 2010, the Maison européenne de la photographie in Paris mounted the largest-ever exhibition of Lagerfeld's photography, showcasing his commercial work for Chanel, celebrity portraits for magazines, and abstract landscapes, including a 2007 series titled "Another Side of Versailles."

Later in his life, Lagerfeld fulfilled a boyhood ambition by becoming a professional caricaturist. From 2013, his political cartoons were regularly published in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

3.2. Film, art, and design

Karl Lagerfeld's creative pursuits extended into film, fine art, and architectural design, showcasing his diverse artistic range. In 2007, a feature-length documentary, Lagerfeld Confidential, directed by Rodolphe Marconi, provided an intimate look into the designer's life. That same year, Lagerfeld took on the role of host for the fictional radio station K109 in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV and its DLCs, The Lost & Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.

In 2008, he collaborated with German luxury toy manufacturer Steiff to create a teddy bear in his likeness, produced in a limited edition of 2,500 that retailed for 1.50 K USD. His image has since been immortalized in various forms, including pins, shirts, and dolls. In 2009, Tra Tutti began selling "Karl Lagermouse" and "Karl Lagerfelt," miniature finger puppets resembling him. Also in 2009, he had a guest voice role in the French animated film Totally Spies! The Movie.

In 2013, Lagerfeld directed Once Upon a Time..., a short film starring Keira Knightley as Coco Chanel and Clotilde Hesme as her aunt, Adrienne. In June 2016, it was announced that Lagerfeld would design the two residential lobbies for The Estates at Acqualina, a luxury residential development in Miami's Sunny Isles Beach. That same year, Palazzo Pitti in Florence hosted another exhibition of Lagerfeld's photography, featuring portraits and fashion shoot images inspired by classical mythology.

In October 2018, Lagerfeld collaborated with Carpenters Workshop Gallery to launch "Architectures," an art collection of functional sculptures. These pieces, including gueridons, tables, lamps, consoles, fountains, and mirrors, were crafted from rare Arabescato Fantastico (a vibrant white marble with dark gray veins) and black Nero Marquina marble (with milky veins). Inspired by antiquity, the collection was referred to as "modern mythology." In 2019, following his death, the Zürich-based Galerie Gmurzynska mounted a retrospective exhibition highlighting his work over the preceding three decades.

5.1. Signature style and public image

Lagerfeld was instantly recognizable for his signature white hair, typically tied in a ponytail, which he first adopted after losing weight. His iconic look also included dark sunglasses, fingerless gloves, and high, starched detachable collars. This distinctive appearance became a crucial part of his cultivated public persona.

5.2. Relationships and residences

Lagerfeld maintained an 18-year relationship with French aristocrat and socialite Jacques de Bascher (1951-1989). Despite the duration and depth of their bond, Lagerfeld stated that the relationship was never sexual, declaring, "I infinitely loved that boy, but I had no physical contact with him. Of course, I was seduced by his physical charm." De Bascher also had an affair with couturier Yves Saint Laurent, leading Saint Laurent's business partner, Pierre Bergé, to accuse Lagerfeld of attempting to destabilize their rival fashion house. De Bascher died of AIDS in 1989, with Lagerfeld remaining by his bedside during the final stages of his illness. Following Lagerfeld's death, reports indicated that his ashes were to be mixed with those of de Bascher, which he had kept in an urn, or with those of his mother.

Lagerfeld owned and decorated numerous homes throughout his life, reflecting his evolving aesthetic preferences. These included:

• An apartment in the Rue de l'Université in Paris, decorated in the Art Deco style (1970s).
• The 18th-century Chateau de Penhoët in Brittany, adorned in the Rococo style (1970s to 2000).
• An apartment in Monte Carlo decorated until 2000 in 1980s Memphis style (from the early 1980s).
• The Villa Jako in Blankenese in Hamburg, styled in Art Deco (mid-1990s to 2000).
• The Villa La Vigie in France (1990s to 2000).
• A 17th-century mansion (hôtel particulier) in the Rue de l'Université in Paris, decorated in Rococo and other styles (1980s to the 2000s).
• An apartment in Manhattan (2006 to 2012), which he never moved into or decorated.
• The summer villa El Horria in Biarritz, decorated in a modern style (1990s-2006).
• A house dating from the 1840s in Vermont (from the 2000s).
• From 2007, he owned an 1820s house in Paris on Quai Voltaire decorated in modern and Art Deco styles.

Pictures of his Parisian and Monégasque apartments were published in Vogue, showcasing his vast collection of Suzanne Belperron's pins and brooches. He even used the color of one of her blue chalcedony rings as the starting point for the Chanel spring/summer 2012 collection. He noted that he enjoyed decorating houses rather than living in them, sometimes selling properties he had purchased but never used.

5.3. Lifestyle and hobbies

Lagerfeld's lifestyle was characterized by unique personal habits and deep passions. In 2001, he underwent a significant weight loss, losing 93 lb ^{(42 kg)} in 13 months. He explained that this was motivated by a desire to wear clothes designed by Hedi Slimane, whose fashions, modeled by very slim individuals, required him to shed weight. The diet was specifically created for him by Jean-Claude Houdret, leading to the publication of The Karl Lagerfeld Diet, which Lagerfeld promoted on various television shows, including Larry King Live.

He famously owned a red point Birman cat named Choupette, for whom he expressed a desire to marry if it were legal in June 2013. According to reports, Lagerfeld included Choupette in his will from 2015, designating 1.50 M USD for her care and maintenance, making her one of the world's highest-earning pets through collaborations, such as one with Shu Uemura in 2015, which reportedly earned her 350.00 M JPY.

Lagerfeld was a passionate book collector, amassing one of the largest personal libraries in the world, totaling 300,000 volumes. He once stated, "Today, I only collect books; there is no room left for something else. If you go to my house, I'll have you walk around the books. I ended up with a library of 300,000. It's a lot for an individual." He was also a collector of Chrome Hearts jewelry, claiming to own all their rings and stating, "The only jewelry a man can wear is Chrome Hearts." He was known for his personal collection of Audemars Piguet watches, particularly an all-black Royal Oak Ref. 5402ST, which was a rare, customized piece he owned since the mid-1970s.

Fluent in four languages-German, Italian, French, and English-Lagerfeld's intellectual curiosity extended beyond fashion. In 2003, he designed a limited-edition piano for Steinway's 150th anniversary. In 2011, he undertook the photography for the annual Pirelli Calendar, known for its artistic and often nude photography. In 2007, he released a double-disc CD album of his own musical selections.

7.1. Death

After experiencing health complications in January 2019, Karl Lagerfeld was admitted to the American Hospital of Paris in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine on 18 February. He died there the following morning, 19 February 2019, at the age of 85, from complications of prostate cancer. Lagerfeld had explicitly requested no formal funeral, expressing his wish to be cremated and have his ashes spread at secret locations alongside those of his mother and his late partner, Jacques de Bascher.

7.2. Tributes and posthumous projects

Lagerfeld's passing elicited widespread tributes from the fashion world and beyond. On 20 June 2019, a major memorial event titled "Karl For Ever" was held at the Grand Palais in Paris, a venue that had hosted many of Chanel's iconic runway collections. The 90-minute celebration of the designer's life featured a career retrospective highlighting his tenures at Chloé, Fendi, and Chanel, along with his work for his eponymous Karl Lagerfeld brand. The event was attended by 2,500 guests, with nearly 60 gigantic portraits of Lagerfeld displayed within the pavilion. The ceremony included readings and musical performances by notable figures such as Tilda Swinton, Cara Delevingne, Helen Mirren, Pharrell Williams, and Lang Lang. The production was staged by acclaimed theater and opera director Robert Carsen. Although Lagerfeld had expressed a desire to avoid emotional reactions surrounding his death, some models and audience members were seen crying during the show. His final Chanel collection, completed before his death, featured an Alpine theme of après-ski clothing and included a moment of silence in his honor, with chairs emblazoned with his image next to Coco Chanel, bearing the saying "the beat goes on."

Exhibitions celebrating his photography and design legacy continued. "Lagerfeld: The Chanel Shows," an exhibition of Simon Procter's photography, was displayed in London, Paris, Dubai, Boca Raton, and Miami. In February 2020, Eden Gallery honored Lagerfeld with an exhibition exploring sculptures and paintings inspired by his work.