Karl Lagerfeld is one of the pillars of the fashion world. The master has collaborated with such fashion houses as Chanel, Chloe and Fendi. Thanks to his talent, millions of women around the world have become happier.
Childhood of a fashion designer
The full name of the famous couturier is Karl Otto Lagerfeld. He was born on September 10, 1933 in Hamburg (Germany). The family was quite wealthy, the father of the future fashion designer worked in a bank.
Karl was a late child, at the time of birth his mother was 42 years old, and his father 60 years old. The boy was the couple's only child, but he has two half-sisters.
As a child, Lagerfeld devoted a lot of time to learning foreign languages. His father was a real polyglot and was fluent in twelve languages. Karl was less successful in this area and mastered four languages: German, Italian, English and French.
Mom instilled in the boy a love for beautiful and stylish things. Even as a small child, Karl wore shirts with cufflinks and knew how to tie a tie on his own.
Acquaintance with the world of fashion
When Karl was 14 years old, the family moved to Paris. There, the young man entered a high fashion school. It was in this educational institution that Lagerfeld met Yves Saint Laurent.
In 1954, the International Wool Secretariat held a competition, according to the results of which the young Karl received his first prize. He was awarded for the best coat design. Lagerfeld was noticed by the management of the famous fashion house "Pierre Balmain" and offered him a job.
In 1958, Karl Lagerfeld moved to the Jean Patou fashion house, where he worked as an art director.
As a guest designer, Lagerfeld has collaborated with Krizia, Charles Jourdan, Fendi and Chloé. Surprisingly, for each brand, the designer created amazing, exclusive and dissimilar things.
In 1974, the fashion designer launched his first clothing line for men, which was an overwhelming success. After that, Lagerfeld was invited to become a professor at the Vienna School of Applied Arts.
High fashion genius
World fame fell on the fashion designer in 1980, when Lagerfeld was working at Chanel on a ready-to-wear line.
After some time, “KL” and “KL by Karl Lagerfeld” clothing lines came out from under the hand of the master. In 1986, Lagerfeld received the Golden Thimble, a prestigious fashion award, for his new Chanel collection.
Lagerfeld's name becomes a sign of quality, style and sophistication. In his collections, the designer loves to use natural leather and fur, which is why he is regularly attacked by the animal welfare society.
In addition to clothing, the designer regularly releases his collections of bags and accessories.
Lagerfeld himself has been following the same style for many years: a classic three-piece suit, leather gloves and glasses.
Favorite models of the genius author are Claudia Schiffer, Stella Tennant, Diane Kruger and other catwalk divas.
In 2000, the designer launched a collection under the Lagerfeld Gallery brand and showed it in Paris at Fashion Week.
In 2010 he was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor for his great contribution to the development of art.
Lagerfeld continues to work in the global fashion industry to this day. In 2017, under the guidance of the master, his student, Sebastian Jondo, worked on his collection.
In 2018, Karl Lagerfeld launched a makeup line with the Australian cosmetics brand ModelCo.
Personal life and interesting biography facts
In addition to design, Lagerfeld devotes a lot of time to photography. Models, movie stars, musicians and athletes participate in his photo sessions.
The designer received the Lucky Strike Designer Award for his photographs and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Fotographie, an honorary prize from the German Society of Art Photo Lovers.
In addition, Lagerfeld is a great connoisseur of books and exquisite perfume.
Several documentaries and feature films have been shot about the "great emperor" of fashion.
Lagerfeld often gets into the press for his scandalous and outrageous statements. For some of them, the designer even had to apologize.
As for his personal life, the haute couture meter has never married and has no children. According to Lagerfeld, his only love was Jacques de Basher. They met in 1971 and were in a relationship until 1983. After that, de Basher went to Yves Saint Laurent, which finally quarreled the great couturiers, and five years later he died of AIDS.
This was a huge blow to Lagerfeld, after which he announced that his heart was closed forever. In recent years, he lived in a large mansion with several employees and a chauffeur. On February 19, 2019, the legendary fashion designer passed away.
