Lagerfeld, Karl

Karl Lagerfeld was born on September 10, 1933 in Hamburg in the family of a large businessman, owner of the factory for the production of condensed milk Otto Lagerfeld. He had an older sister Marta-Christiana, who had lived in the United States since 1957 and died in 2015 ^{[13] [14]} , as well as her half-sister ^[15] .

Lagerfeld hid his true age by naming different birth dates. In 2009, he said in an interview that he was born between 1933 and 1938, but no documents confirming the exact date were preserved. In April 2013, he said that he was born in 1935, and confusion with his age arose due to the fault of his mother ^[16] .

In 1934, parents bought a large estate in Bad Bramstedt . In 1939, the family returned to Hamburg. In 1944, after the city was almost completely destroyed as a result of the Allied bombing, the Lagerfelds again settled in Bad Bramstedt. In 1949, the family returned to Hamburg, where Karl continued his studies at the school. Bismarck. In the same 1949, he visited with his mother a fashion show of Christian Dior , which struck him.

In 1953, he moved with his mother to Paris , where he studied at a school under the High Fashion Syndicate , but did not defend his diploma. In 1954, he received a coat design award in the competition of fashion designers organized by the - among the jury members were Balmen and Givenchy , the winner was Yves Saint Laurent , with whom Karl had made friends since that time (their friendship lasted until 1975 ) After the competition, Pierre Balman invited him to become his assistant - Lagerfeld worked in his fashion house until 1962.

In 1958, Lagerfeld was invited as a fashion designer to fashion house , where his first collection was “Line K” with a simple front, contoured back and high waist. There, he took over the secrets of craftsmanship from the cutter Alfonsina and the head of the archive, Mr. Gabriel.

In 1965, Lagerfeld headed the Italian fashion house Fendi , where he created collections of clothes made of leather and fur. Since 1966, he was a fashion designer at the Chloé ready-to-wear Paris fashion house, with whom he collaborated until the mid-1980s, when he changed ownership.

In 1973, Lagerfeld was awarded the Golden Spinning Wheel Award. In 1979, he received an invitation to teach at the Vienna Higher School of Applied Arts ( Hochschule fur angewalte Kunst ) as a professor.

In 1983, he became the artistic director of Chanel House, where he first worked on the creation of ready-to-wear collections.

In 1984, he founded his own fashion house - Karl Lagerfeld Impression , founded the KL line and the more democratic K by Karl Lagerfeld (2006).

Since 1987, took up photography, published several books. In 1987-1995, he collaborated with a major German clothing manufacturer, Klaus Steilmann . In 1992-1997, he again served as the chief fashion designer at Chloé .

Along with Gianni Versace, he actively cultivated the image of a top model . His favorite fashion models were Ines de la Fressange , Linda Evangelista , Cindy Crawford and, especially, Claudia Schiffer . “If I had to unleash the Trojan War , Claudia would be my Elena ,” he said. However, in 1994, he stopped working with Schiffer after she became an advertising person for Fanta .

In 1998, he opened the Lagerfeld Gallery - Studio 7L in Paris.

In 2015, he first presented the Fendi collection of “ high fur ”, within the framework of which he created the world's most expensive fur coat - made from sable fur, it was estimated at $ 1 million.

Lagerfeld was a great book lover, his personal library totaled 300 thousand volumes. In 2000, he founded his own publishing house 7L in Paris and opened a bookstore of the same name. In the same year, he sold at Christie's auction part of his collection of books on French art of the 18th century.

The designer was also known as a perfumer. He created the fragrances of Chloé (1975), KL (1982), Jako (1997), as well as a fragrance with the smell of a book.

Lagerfeld liked to wear Brigitte Macron . The fashion designer claimed that she had “the most beautiful legs of Paris” and even compared the first lady of France with Brigitte Bardot .

In early January 2019, Lagerfeld did not first enter the final of his Chanel home collection ^[17] , referring to a sprained ankle. Instead, guests were greeted by Virginie Viar, the couturier's “right hand” ^[18] , while the fashion designer himself remained behind the scenes in a wheelchair. On February 18, Lagerfeld was urgently hospitalized, and the next day, on the morning of February 19, 2019, he died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 85 ^[19] .

Lagerfeld considered it improper to burden someone with his body after death. “I just want to disappear like animals in a virgin forest,” he said. After cremation, the ashes of the fashion designer are mixed with the ashes of the mother and the ashes of Basher, his life partner.

Personal life

Lagerfeld was never married and had no children ^[20] . In 1971 he met the Parisian dandy Jacques de Basher. In 1973, de Bascher began a relationship with Yves Saint Laurent , which led to the breakdown of long-standing friendship between fashion designers (later they again began to communicate). After Saint-Laurent and de Basher broke up under the pressure of Pierre Berger , the latter again became a life partner of Lagerfeld. After his death from AIDS in 1989, Karl lived alone ^[21] . From the servants in his house kept a housekeeper, cook and driver, who were at his disposal around the clock ^[22] . According to Lagerfeld’s own admission, he was not interested in sex ^[23] .

In the last years of his life, Lagerfeld was very attached to his cattery, a Burmese cat named Chupetta ( French Kapustochka ). She became the heroine of Lagerfeld’s Chupette, inspired him to create a capsule collection of accessories, and was also the prototype of one of Karl Lagerfeld 's signature prints. Chupetta participated in the filming of several advertising campaigns, in total, "earning", according to the fashion designer, more than 3 million euros. For her, Lagerfeld acquired a personal plane and hired two maids.

Having German citizenship, Karl Lagerfeld was able to bequeath to the cat his condition ^[24] (in France, the transfer of inheritance to animals is prohibited).

Custom style

A feature of Lagerfeld, along with his matte snow-white hair gathered in a ponytail (he wore it since 1976), were dark sunglasses that corrected a visual defect ^{[25] [26]} . Until 2000, primarily in the period 1980-1990, the designer appeared at public events with a fan in his hands ^[27] . According to him, the fan served as protection against cigarette smoke and paparazzi. Since after the death of Basher Lagerfeld began to gain weight, he mostly purchased clothes for himself from such Japanese designers as Matsuda , Comme des Garçons and Yamamoto . Starting from November 1, 2000, for 13 months, Lagerfeld lost about 42 kg thanks to the 3D diet (Designer, Doctor, Diet) developed by a French doctor ^[28] . The reason for this was the edgy Slimi Dior Homme skinny suits that Lagerfeld really wanted to wear: “I wear tight suits so as not to be able to get fat. My only desire is the ability to continue wearing Dior size 48/46 clothing. ” ^[29] In addition, since the mid-2000s, Lagerfeld preferred to wear gloves, mitts , silver jewelry from Chrome Hearts , closed collars and tight pants or jeans ^{[30] [31]} .

Collaboration and projects

In the 1980s, a television series about the history of fashion appeared. Lagerfeld illuminated fashion over time using images displayed in front of the camera (for example, the differences between fashion in Germany from 1610 to 1620). For Madonna, Lagerfeld designed stage costumes for her 2004 Re-Invention World Tour . In 2005-2006, Lagerfeld worked for Kylie Minogue ^[32] .

In 2008, he made a Steiff teddy bear in a typical Lagerfeld outfit, which was sold for $ 1,500 in the US ^{[33] [34]} . At the beginning of 2008, the Grand Theft Auto IV video game was introduced, in which Lagerfeld’s voice could be heard in the fictitious radio station K109 created in the game ^[35] . Since mid-2008, the designer took part in the design of the whole island called Isla Moda , including apartments, hotels, shops off the coast of Dubai ^{[36] [37]} . The project was not implemented by the end of 2010, in this regard, Lagerfeld resigned as designer ^[38] .

At the end of 2009, the Italian-American toy manufacturer Tokidoki released a simulated Lagerfeld figure of 25 cm in the amount of 1000 copies, each costing 129 euros ^[39] .

At the end of 2009, the designer collaborated with a French helmet manufacturer and developed some models of motorcycle helmets and silk scarves ^[40] . In early 2010, he created a limited-edition Coca-Cola Light bottle for Coca-Cola , which was sold at a price of 3.50 euros per piece ^[41] .

In June 2010, Lagerfeld worked in the satirical magazine Eulenspiegel as a cartoonist ^[42] . In mid-2010, he took over one day as editor-in-chief of the French daily newspaper Libération and made several cartoons for her ^[43] . In Germany, on December 1, 2013, Karl Lagerfeld developed the publication of the weekly Die Welt newspaper with his own photographs, texts and color illustrations ^[44] .

For the fall / winter 2010 season, jewelry maker Swarovski presented bracelets, necklaces and brooches designed by Lagerfeld for Atelier Swarovski ^{[45] [46]} .

Italian shoe manufacturer Hogan , part of Tod's group owned by Diego Della Valle, presented in October 2010 a joint design work with Karl Lagerfeld on six sketches of women's shoes, clothing and accessories for the spring 2011 season ^[47] . Collaboration with Hogan was continued with the creation of the fall / winter 2011 collection.

Since August 31, 2011, in collaboration with the Macy's chain of American department stores through IMPULSE designer collections, Karl Lagerfeld developed a capsule collection of limited-edition women's clothing of a low price segment ^{[48] [49]} .

In 2015, he developed the Karl Lagerfeld Sport City women's collection of 18 models for the German online store Zalando ^[50] . In the spring of 2017, he worked with the French textile manufacturer Vilebrequin and presented a collection of swimwear ^[51] . In 2017, it became known that Lagerfeld will cooperate with the Australian cosmetics manufacturer ModelCo and in 2018 will launch a limited series of beauty ^[52] . In the spring of 2018, he collaborated with sportswear manufacturer Puma ^[53] .

Movie Jobs

In 1973 , starred in the film "Love" by Andy Warhol .

Costume Designer

• 1991 - High Heels , directed by Pedro Almodovar
• 2002 - Callas Forever , directed by Franco Zeffirelli

Advertising

In 2008, Lagerfeld starred in a public service advertisement for the French Road Safety Inspectorate, posing in a suit over which he wore a yellow vest with reflective stripes. In 2010, he participated in advertising campaigns of 3 SUISSES and a Volkswagen Golf STYLE .

Karl Lagerfeld wrote several books, each of which in one way or another related to the world of art and high fashion.

• 1998 - " Fans: From the 18th to the Beginning of the 20th Century " / Fans: From the 18th to the Beginning of the 20th Century by Alexander Chervyakov, introduction to the publication.
• 2004 - “Diet” / Diet , in which Lagerfeld describes his story of the fight against excess weight gained after the death of his life partner Jacques de Basher.
• 2004 - “ Portrait of Dorian Gray ” / A Portrait of Dorian Gray - a photo story that reflects Lagerfeld’s look at Oscar Wilde’s novel.
• 2011 - illustration for the book of Justine Picardie “Coco Chanel. Legend and life. "
• 2012 - “ The Little Black Jacket ” / The Little Black Jacket - photo album dedicated to the shortened jacket created by Coco Chanel and became one of the symbols of the Chanel house.
• 2013 - Karl Lagerfeld. The wisdom of life. Philosophy of Style ”- a collection of quotes by a fashion designer (in Russian, Slovo / Slovo publishing house).
• 2015 - Fendi by Karl Lagerfeld - the book is dedicated to the history of cooperation between Karl Lagerfeld and the Italian fashion house Fendi ^[54] .

Lagerfeld was constantly criticized due to the fact that he preferred the thin models, whom he invited to participate in his collections. He spoke out against the ban on the appearance on the catwalk of too thin models ^[55] . In 2004, a negative review appeared on the news about the collection of the H&M fashion chain store. The company offered the buyer clothes of larger sizes, to which Lagerfeld reacted as follows: “What I developed is a fashion for thin, slender people. That was the original idea ” ^[56] .

In November 2017, Lagerfeld provoked indignation, calling on French television Muslim refugees “the worst enemies of the Jews” ^{[57] [58]} .

In May 2018, Karl Lagerfeld told French weekly magazine Le Point that he “hates” Angela Merkel for her refugee policy. With her dubious decision to accept “one million migrants” to Germany, she paved the way for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to the Bundestag in the 2017 elections. Now sits "a hundred neo-Nazis in parliament, " since Merkel "forgot" German history. “If this continues, I will renounce German citizenship” ^[59] .

Fur attitude

Lagerfeld regularly used natural fur in collections for the Fendi fashion house. In 2001, he was attacked by PETA activists who opposed the use of fur ^[60] . According to the New York Post , the fashion designer said he saw nothing wrong with people killing animals that would kill people if possible. The representative of PETA stated to this that the “delusional” statement of Lagerfeld and the mentality of “kill or be killed” are hardly applicable to the mink or rabbit ^[61] . In 2015, he introduced the first Fendi “high fur” collection. However, according to him, in the 21st century, the use of expensive fur was so reduced that if earlier in the season he could make one hundred sable fur coats, then now - at best, one.

• 1955 - Coat Design Award, Competition.
• 1973 - Golden Spinning Wheel Award
• 1993 - Lucky Strike Designer Award .
• 1996 - prize of the German Society of Photography ( Deutsche Geselleschaft fur Fotographie ).
• 2010 - Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honor - for his contribution to culture and art ^[62] .

In 2007, at the Berlin International Film Festival , the premiere of Rodolfo Marconi 's film “The Secrets of Lagerfeld” ( Lagerfeld. Confidential ), dedicated to the fashion designer ^{[63], took place} .

В 2014 году вышел фильм французского режиссёра Джалиля Леспер « Ив Сен-Лоран », где показана дружба между молодыми модельерами Лагерфельдом и Ивом Сен-Лораном . Роль Лагерфельда исполнил Николай Кински .

Documentary Films

• 2008 — Лагерфельд / Karl Lagerfeld, un roi seul (реж. Тьерри Демезьер / Thierry Demaizière, Албан Тюрле / Alban Teurlai)
• 2016 — Карл Лагерфельд. Быть и казаться / Karl Lagerfeld, être et paraître (реж. Лоран Аллен-Карон / Laurent Allen-Caron)

•  On Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karl Lagerfeld
• The official website of Karl Lagerfeld (English) (French)
• Biography and collections of designer Karl Lagerfeld   Russia
• Blacklist: What Karl Lagerfeld Hates
• Karl Lagerfeld in the " Twitter " (eng.)