Karl Lagerfeld/Lagerfeld Collection

[LeEtoile]

ME+KL=

 

[Alura]

I want him to adopt me .

 

[breathe0xygen]

thanks for your wondeful story.

 

[metal-on-metal]

The Rootin' Teuton: Cathy Horyn on Karl Lagerfeld

Yesterday's New York Times was stuffed with the spring issue of T Magazine (the updated, "cooler" version of the now defunct Fashions of the Times), which featured this amazing article by Cathy Horyn on Karl Lagerfeld. As some of you may have read, Cathy is moving to Paris in a few months to work on her authorized biography of Herr Lagerfeld. It's a sort of preview of things to come, I imagine. In the article, she talks about Karl's youth in Germany, which will probably be a pivotal point in the book. She emphasizes his wholly German qualities as the reason he has survived in the business for so long. Hence, the "Rootin' Teuton".

Even though I think we've had our fill of Lagerfeld features in the past year, it's a fascinating read and absolutely worth your time. It is way too long to post here in its entirety, but you can read it all on the NYT site:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/style/tmagazine/TW141315L.html?

Photographs by Jean-Baptiste Mondino

Published: February 20, 2005

Even at his own superhuman rate, Karl Lagerfeld was a busy man last summer and fall. On July 31, he was in Monaco for the 18th birthday party of Charlotte Casiraghi, a daughter of his friend Princess Caroline. Both mother and daughter wore Chanel, as might be expected. Chanel may not be Lagerfeld's house, but after 22 years as its designer, no one would dispute his role in making Chanel the most glamorous fashion name in the world.

On Aug. 4, he was at his home in Biarritz, where I saw him and where we took a spin in one of his golf carts -- Lagerfeld in a high-collared white shirt, jeans, a black cardigan and many rings -- to see his new state-of-the-art photography studio and library, containing every vinyl record he has ever owned and about 100,000 books. Two days later he flew to Deauville to spend the weekend with Alain Wertheimer, who owns Chanel, and his wife, Brigitte. Recently, Wertheimer expressed his gratitude to Lagerfeld by saying he would sell Chanel when Lagerfeld decides to retire, a gesture that no one, least of all these two men, would take seriously. Chanel has been in the Wertheimer family since 1954, when they bought out Coco Chanel. Wertheimer and his brothers own the company lock, stock and barrel. What's more, says Francoise Montenay, the president of Chanel, the company's revenues are greater -- when you add up the bottles of No. 5, the tubes of lipstick, the quilted bags, the pearl earrings, the camellia hair bows, the tweed jackets -- than those of Louis Vuitton, which last year totaled $4 billion. That would make Chanel the biggest luxury company in the world.

Still, the statement, serious or not, says a lot about the value of Lagerfeld's role, which Lagerfeld -- the last of a line of rich, cultivated Swedes and Germans, who today professes no attachments to anything or anyone -- sums up as that of ''a professional hit man.'' The rest of August was spent in Biarritz, catching up on paperwork (Lagerfeld, who doesn't use a secretary, keeps a separate desk for each language he speaks), entertaining Caroline's kids and giving his approval to a Chanel exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which opens on May 2 and will be, without a doubt, the social event of the season.

By early September, he was in Paris and at work on collections for Chanel, Fendi and Lagerfeld Gallery. On Sept. 23, having spent the afternoon at Chanel, he dropped by Cafe de Flore, where he is something of a regular, and signed four autographs before leaving at 1 a.m. The next day, he flew to Milan to attend a dinner given by Franca Sozzani, the editor of Italian Vogue, for the artist Anselm Kiefer, making a belated entrance in a floor-length kilt designed by his friend Hedi Slimane of Dior. He was back in Paris the following day, but within 36 hours he was again in Milan for fittings at Fendi. It was the only time in four months I sensed boredom behind the dark glasses. Other than his paycheck from Fendi and his friendship with Bernard Arnault, the chairman of L.V.M.H., you have to wonder what keeps him there. The last fur collection was substandard, and none of his ready-to-wear is being bought by American department stores. ''Still, he gets reviewed and photographed, and he keeps the whole machine going,'' said a former Fendi executive. And Lagerfeld doesn't hide his disdain for Fendi managers, saying: ''Arnault is no problem. But the rest, I don't know. I'm not used to people who have no real position of power, who are scared of power.''

A week later, on Oct. 6, Lagerfeld started fittings for the Chanel show, which would involve 95 models and much stage work, since the plan was to simulate a film premiere, with Nicole Kidman, to whom Chanel had paid millions to appear in its No. 5 ads, as the main star. That night he photographed the model Daria Werbowy for V, the magazine edited by his friend Stephen Gan. The next day he rose early and stayed in his bedroom, sketching and talking on the phone, in one of his long white nightshirts (like all of Lagerfeld's shirts, they are made for him by Hilditch & Key, and he says he has more than 1,000) until almost noon, when he dressed, put on his rings and the black neck cord that holds the wedding rings of his parents, and left for Chanel. He did more fittings until midafternoon, when he decided to clear his head with a shopping trip to Dior. When I saw him at Chanel at 6, Lagerfeld was working his way through a dietetic chocolate pudding that looked as if it would have no trouble sticking to Coco's famous walls. He didn't know how late the fittings would go. ''The last time I asked we still had 50 girls,'' he said cheerfully. I guess the pudding and the shopping had put him in a good mood. ''Look, it doesn't matter to me what time we finish,'' he said. ''I'm like a hired escort.''

 

[raijin]

An interesting read, Thanks metal.

 

[metal-on-metal]

You know, say what you will about Karl, but he's exactly the type of character the fashion system thrives on. He's essential. I think the key to his success is that he has truly never stopped. It's inspirational. It would be too easy to shut himself up in his Biarritz castle and be totally removed from it all. But Karl is listening and watching, never content with the old and embracing youth culture and music like no old person I've ever seen. It may be spoonfed to him by people like Stephen Gan and Michel Gaubert but it's there and that's what matters.

 

[kit]

You know, say what you will about Karl, but he's exactly the type of character the fashion system thrives on. He's essential. I think the key to his success is that he has truly never stopped. It's inspirational. It would be too easy to shut himself up in his Biarritz castle and be totally removed from it all. But Karl is listening and watching, never content with the old and embracing youth culture and music like no old person I've ever seen. It may be spoonfed to him by people like Stephen Gan and Michel Gaubert but it's there and that's what matters.

Very true , M-O-M ,

One may make fun of Karl - his viciously acid tongue and ' mutton dressed as lamb ' taste for Dior Homme clothes asks for this - but he has lasted , and when one thinks of the state of his contemporary - Yves Saint Laurent - played-out and nursing his resentment - you've got to hand it to Karl for his staying power .
I really really love Yves and all his works , and I'm not too fond of Karl as a person , but credit where credit's due , say I .

Thanks for the article .

 

[dizzytacks]

lagerfeld was never that accessible and this new infusion of money increases availability and now more people will know who karl is, besides us fashion addicts,hilfiger is known throughout america and this infusion of money will also MAKE karl work harder at his game!do you remember when karl worked with diesel a couple of collections back...instantly sold out, along with H&M now he can make the world slick dark and meticulous like karl himself,i'm in!

 

[masquerade]

Karl was on Tommy's show The Cut last night. It was funny because you could tell he didnt want to be there, but he probably had to. He helped judge a photography contest.

from cbs.com

i wish they had more.

the contestants were practically crying when he came out.

 

[iyemstoopid]

i just realized now that ive never seen karl lagerfelds eyes

 

[vee]

hahaha, i'm not so sure what to think of this all.

i just realized now that ive never seen karl lagerfelds eyes

i was so shocked when i saw it, as it seems like a picture of him sans shades is just nonexistent, but during "designer at work" on ftv featuring karl lagerfeld, he got irrate? something, and just took off his glasses. i'm so glad i was taping it! he actually doesn't look that old! nice eyes, gotta check back on that vid but i think they were sort of blue...

 

[tone]

I dunno if i like this. Hilfiger, ew. Did that show of his get cancelled?

 

[tortoisie]

Has anyone got more pics of young Karl?

I like him so much

 

[fouroclock]

He looks less gross then than he does now.

Oh Karl, please stay away from the rat poison.

 

[tortoisie]

I actually like him with white hair.

It makes him look like he just stepped out of a fairy-tale picture book.

But it would be nice to see young Karl with black hair.

Thank you to anyone who post those pics.