Karl Lagerfeld

In 1954, Lagerfeld submitted a dress design to the International Wool Secretariat's design competition that presaged the chemise dresses that would be introduced by Givenchy and Balenciaga in 1957.[27] In 1955, after living in Paris for two years, Lagerfeld entered a coat design competition sponsored by the International Wool Secretariat. He won the coat category and befriended Yves Saint Laurent, who won the dress category, and was soon after hired by Pierre Balmain who was a judge for the competition. He worked as Balmain's assistant, and later apprentice, for three years.[28][29]

In 1958, Lagerfeld became the artistic director for Jean Patou. In 1964, he went to Rome to study art history and work for Tiziani but was soon designing freelance for a many brands including Charles Jourdan, Chloé, Krizia, and Valentino.[30] In 1965, he was hired by Fendi to modernize their fur line. Lagerfeld's innovative designs proved groundbreaking, as he introduced the use of mole, rabbit, and squirrel pelts into high fashion. Lagerfeld remained with Fendi Rome until his death.[30]

In 1966, Lagerfeld became a designer for Chloé working alongside Gaby Aghion, and in 1974 he became the sole designer for the brand.[31] In the 1970s, Lagerfeld's work for Chloé made him one of the most prominent designers in the world,[32][33] often vying with Yves Saint Laurent for most influential.[34][35] After a period in the early seventies when he toyed with styles from the 1930s[36][37] and 1950s,[38][39] in 1974 he contributed to the burgeoning Big Look or Soft Look by eliminating linings, padding, and even hemming from voluminous, thin-fabric garments, even from fur in his work for Fendi at the time,[40] to enable an unencumbered, comfortable, layered style that would dominate the high fashion of the middle of the decade.[41][42][43]

After refining this style and saying that to go back to linings and stiff structure would be regressive,[44][45] he did a complete about-face in 1978[46][47] and joined other designers in showing the heavily constructed, huge-shouldered, more restrictive looks[48] that would dominate the 1980s.[49][50][51] He presented such an exaggerated retro 1940s-50s silhouette – immense shoulder pads;[52][53] severe, stiffly constructed suits[54] with padded lampshade peplums;[55] padded busts[56] and hips;[57] impractically tight skirts;[58] awkwardly high spike heels;[59] hats;[60][61] gloves; even boned corsets[62][63] – that his work did not look out of place alongside similar retro fare from Thierry Mugler of the period.[64]

During both these phases, his mid-seventies Soft Look phase and his late seventies-eighties big-shoulders phase, his love of the eighteenth century was frequently on display.[65][66] For instance, his Fall 1977 collection, one of the most celebrated of the seventies Soft Look era, included lace trim, headwear, and thigh-high boots in styles from the 1700s,[67][68][69] while his Fall 1979 collection, one of the most influential of the early years of the big-shoulder era,[70] contained millinery that recalled Napoleonic bicornes, along with button-sided spats/leggings that looked somewhat like military accoutrements from the same period.[71]

Lagerfeld continued producing outfits in the shoulder pads-tight skirts-stiletto heels direction into the eighties, joining other similar designers in shortening the skirts of the look even as high as mini length,[72] though his hemlines could also range as low as the ankle.[73] Alongside these styles, he also showed softer, more comfortable clothing, particularly in 1981-'82, when a brief revival of somewhat mid-seventies-looking long dirndl skirts and shawls appeared on runways[74][75] and Lagerfeld touted the gossamer weightlessness he had perfected in the seventies,[76] although he did like to place corsets and girdles over it by that time.[77][78][79] The variety of lengths and trouser shapes he presented during this period kept him in line with modern women's needs.[80][81]

Lagerfeld is credited with making great use of Chanel's "CC" logo during the 1980s.[30]

In the 1980s, Lagerfeld was hired by Chanel, which was considered a "near-dead brand" at the time since the death of designer Coco Chanel a decade prior. Taking over the couture there in 1983, Lagerfeld brought life back into the company, making it a huge success[82] by revamping its ready-to-wear fashion line.[3][28] Lagerfeld integrated the interlocked "CC" monogram of Coco Chanel into a style pattern for the House of Chanel.[30][83]

Lagerfeld also changed the Chanel silhouette[84] that had prevailed since the early 1960s, making it more eighties by padding the shoulder,[85] shortening and tightening the skirt,[86][87][88][89] raising the heel,[90][91][92] and enlarging or miniaturizing the jewelry and purses,[93][94][95][96] all controversial moves,[97][98][99] especially the short skirts,[100] as Mlle. Chanel had always disapproved of above-the-knee skirts.[101] This new direction was actually initiated the year before Lagerfeld took the helm, 1982, when a design team led by Hervé Léger, a Lagerfeld protegé, operated at the house. Lagerfeld is suspected of having influenced Léger's changes.[102][103][104]

In 1984, a year after his start at Chanel, Lagerfeld began his own eponymous "Karl Lagerfeld" brand. The brand was established to channel "intellectual sexiness".[3]

Lagerfeld flourished in the plethora of historical revivals of the eighties, from the shoulder-padded 1940s-50s revivals beginning in 1978 and continuing through the eighties, to the 1950s pouf skirts, 1860s crinolines, and hoops of the mid-eighties, now often showgirl-short.[105] Lagerfeld participated in it all, for both his namesake line and Chanel. In 1986, he marked the move away from broad shoulders by removing pads from the shoulders and placing them visibly on the outside of the hips.[106]

In 2002, Lagerfeld asked Renzo Rosso, the founder of Diesel, to collaborate with him on a special denim collection for the Lagerfeld Gallery.[107] The collection, Lagerfeld Gallery by Diesel, was co-designed by Lagerfeld and then developed by Diesel's creative team, under the supervision of Rosso. It consisted of five pieces that were presented during the designer's catwalk shows during Paris Fashion Week[108] and then sold in highly limited editions at the Lagerfeld Galleries in Paris and Monaco and at the Diesel Denim Galleries in New York and Tokyo. During the first week of sales in New York, more than 90% of the trousers were sold out, even though prices ranged from $240 to $1,840.[109] In a statement after the show in Paris, Rosso said: "I am honored to have met this fashion icon of our time. Karl represents creativity, tradition and challenge, and the fact that he thought of Diesel for this collaboration is a great gift and acknowledgement of our reputation as the prêt-à-porter of casual wear."[108]

Lagerfeld at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival

In December 2006, Lagerfeld announced the launch of a new collection for men and women dubbed K Karl Lagerfeld, which included fitted T-shirts and a wide range of jeans.[110] In September 2010, the Couture Council of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology presented Lagerfeld with an award created for him, The Couture Council Fashion Visionary Award, at a benefit luncheon at Avery Fisher Hall, in New York City.[111] In November 2010, Lagerfeld and Swedish crystal manufacturer Orrefors announced a collaboration to design a crystal art collection.[112] The first collection was launched in spring 2011, called Orrefors by Karl Lagerfeld.[113]

In 2012 Lagerfeld released his photo-book The Little Black Jacket which featured entertainers, models, and friends of his.[114] In 2014, Palm Beach Modern Auctions announced that many of Lagerfeld's early sketches for the House of Tiziani in Rome would be sold.[115][116]

Lagerfeld's work in fashion houses garnered him to be considered the Chameleon of fashion. Said by Anna Sui and Clare Waight Keller, they emphasized Lagerfeld's ability to elevate the rich history of fashion houses into the modern-day context.[117][118] In November 2015, Karl Lagerfeld was presented with the Outstanding Achievement Award at the British Fashion Awards. Anna Wintour, Editor in Chief of American Vogue, presented the award.[119]

The final Chanel collection completed before his death had an Alpine theme of après-ski clothing. As Lagerfeld requested not to have any type of funeral, the show only included a moment of silence in his honor and chairs emblazoned with his image next to Coco Chanel with the saying "the beat goes on."[120] Although Lagerfeld shunned any emotional reactions around the idea of his death, some models could be seen crying on the runway, as well as audience members.[121]

Lagerfeld and investments enterprise Dubai Infinity Holdings (DIH) signed a deal to design limited edition homes on the island of Isla Moda.[123][124] A feature-length documentary film on the designer, Lagerfeld Confidential, was made by Vogue in 2007. Later in the year, Lagerfeld was made the host of the fictional radio station K109—the studio in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, and its DLCs The Lost & Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.[125]

In 2008, he created a teddy bear in his likeness produced by Steiff in an edition of 2,500 that sold for $1,500.[126] and has been immortalized in many forms, which include pins, shirts, dolls, and more. In 2009, Tra Tutti began selling Karl Lagermouse and Karl Lagerfelt, which are mini-Lagerfelds in the forms of mice and finger puppets, respectively.[127] The same year, he lent his voice to the French animated film, Totally Spies! The Movie.[128]

Late in life, Lagerfeld realized one of his boyhood ambitions by becoming a professional caricaturist–from 2013, his political cartoons were regularly published in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.[129][130]

Lagerfeld with Hermann Bühlbecker, Prince Albert II and Charlene, Princess of Monaco (2011)

In 2013, he directed the short film Once Upon a Time... in the Cité du Cinéma, Saint-Denis, by Luc Besson, featuring Keira Knightley in the role of Coco Chanel and Clotilde Hesme as her aunt Adrienne Chanel.[131] In June 2016, it was announced that Lagerfeld would design the two residential lobbies of the Estates at Acqualina, a residential development in Miami's Sunny Isles Beach.[132]

In October 2018, Lagerfeld in collaboration with Carpenters Workshop Gallery launched an art collection of functional sculptures titled Architectures. Sculptures were made of Arabescato Fantastico, a rare vibrant white marble with dark gray veins and black Nero Marquina marble with milky veins. Inspired by antiquity and referred to as modern mythology the ensemble consists of gueridons, tables, lamps, consoles, fountains and mirrors.[133]

Lagerfeld lost 42 kg (93 lb) in 2001.[144] He explained: "I suddenly wanted to dress differently, to wear clothes designed by Hedi Slimane... But these fashions, modeled by very, very slim boys—and not men my age—required me to lose at least 40 kg. It took me exactly 13 months." The diet was created specially for him by Dr. Jean-Claude Houdret, which led to a book called The Karl Lagerfeld Diet. He promoted it on Larry King Live and other television shows.[21]

Lagerfeld was a passionate book collector and amassed one of the largest personal libraries in the world. According to the Rare Book Hub, he was quoted as saying, "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."[145]

After health complications in January 2019, Lagerfeld was admitted to the American Hospital of Paris in Parisian suburb Neuilly-sur-Seine on 18 February. He died there the following morning from complications of pancreatic cancer.[146][147] He requested no formal funeral with plans for cremation and ashes spread at secret locations alongside his mother as well as his late partner, Jacques de Bascher.[148][149]

Lagerfeld was memorialized on 20 June 2019 at the Grand Palais with "Karl For Ever", a celebration of the designer's life, which featured a career retrospective highlighting his tenures at Chloé, Fendi, and Chanel.[150][151] The 90-minute tribute was attended by 2,500 guests. Nearly 60 gigantic portraits were on view within the pavilion, which has hosted many Chanel runway collections.[152] The ceremony also included readings and musical performances by Tilda Swinton, Cara Delevingne, Helen Mirren, Pharrell Williams, and Lang Lang. The production was staged by theater and opera director Robert Carsen.[153][154][155][156][157][158][159]

After the memorial, the house of Karl Lagerfeld announced in July 2019 the development of "The White Shirt Project".[160] In homage to its eponymous founder, this collaboration celebrates the late designer's legacy with a collection of reimagined, iconic white shirts.[161][162]

Lagerfeld once said: "If you ask me what I'd most like to have invented in fashion, I'd say the white shirt. For me, the white shirt is the basis of everything. Everything else comes after."[163][164][165]

The global project which was curated by Karl Lagerfeld Style Adviser Carine Roitfeld, features designs from Cara Delevingne, Kate Moss, Tommy Hilfiger, Diane Kruger, Takashi Murakami, Amber Valletta, and[163][166] British street artist, Endless, amongst others.[167]

Seven was Lagerfeld's favorite number, and as such, seven of the final designs will be replicated 77 times and sold for €777 each from 26 September 2019. All proceeds will benefit the French charity Sauver La Vie, which funds medical research at the Paris Descartes University.[162][168][169]

In February 2020 Eden Gallery honored Lagerfeld with an exhibition in which explored sculptures and paintings inspired by his work.[170]

The Metropolitan Museum of Art honored the designer with a retrospective of his work with Balmain, Patou, Chloe, Fendi, Chanel, and his eponymous line. The posthumous exhibition, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which will be held from 5 May through 13 July, spans Lagerfeld's six-decade career and will include more than 150 objects.[171]

Chanel is providing support for the exhibition and the accompanying 2023 Met Gala. The 2023 fête was co-chaired by Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, and Condé Nast Global Chief Content Officer, Anna Wintour.[172][173] Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando will design the exhibit.[174] Curator Andrew Bolton expounded on the exhibition's inspiration in the April 2023 issue of Architectural Digest. Bolton noted that the tribute will focus largely on Lagerfeld's design process, specifically his sketches. Named for English painter William Hogarth's concept of the line of beauty, the retrospective will showcase both the literal lines of Lagerfeld's drawings as well as the sartorial lines or silhouettes of his works.[175]