Karl Lagerfeld

Born in Hamburg, Germany in 1933 Karl Lagerfeld immigrated to Paris at the early age of 14 who then set off to turn into one of the most famed designers this century has witnessed.

Lagerfeld was granted a place at Pierre Balmain in 1955, when only 17, after hitting first place in a competition backed by the International Wool Secretariat. The jacket he had created for the competition was afterwards placed straight to the manufacturing line by Balmain. In 1958, he decided to leave and carry on with a place at Jean Patou that provided him with priceless skills and expertise of couture fashion and clothes but with seemingly very modest satisfaction. In only one year’s time, he gave up to work as a self-employed fashion designer providing for such design houses like Krizia, Charles Jourdan and Valentino. By 1964, he had become so frustrated with the arena of luxurious fashion that he left Paris completely to learn art in Italy.

Lagerfeld went back to fashion three years later in 1967, when he signed up as an expert design advisor for Fendi. However in the 1970’s his identity was more tightly connected with the house of Chloe, at which he was granted complete freedom to create beautiful airy and womanly ready-to-wear series which said to compete modern couture. The Deco series he presented in 1972, which comprised of black and white patterns and clever bias-cutting, gave him international acceptance. He created his last range for Chloe in 1983 when he moved to Chanel while he did come back temporarily in 1993 to substitute the departing designer Martine Sitbon until Phoebe Philo arrived at Chloe’s.

Concurrently when acquiring on the title of director of collections and ready-to-wear at Chanel, Lagerfeld introduced his homonymous brand, now associated with solid tailoring, pairing easy-to-wear sweater coats in his most preferred vibrant colors and gently formed knitwear to design what he explains as "intellectual sexiness". In the meantime his styles for the super- classy French fashion house, a blend of pre-war Chanel and modern styles, transported the brand to the apex of high fashion in the 1980’s and 90’s. Most significant times of his career at Chanel involve accompanying the classic box jacket with denim mini-skirts in 1991, mixing club-inspired black fishnet body-stockings with the classic Chanel camellia positioned amusingly across the breasts and complementing large lace-up boots with streaming georgette skirts and leather coats. By 1997, Vogue had declared him the "unparalleled interpreter of the mood of the moment".

Although relocating from brand to brand, Lagerfeld was able to preserve an impression of his own style during his career. His success is placed in his skillful talent to create a striking declaration and he is in no way reluctant to attempt anything fresh. He has also retained a good sense of humor during his creating that has generated some renowned creations as a shower-dress, with beaded water streaming straight down the front, the car-dress with a radiator grille and fender, and a large number of remarkably unconventional hats, from armchairs to cream cakes, converting Chanel trademarks like the quilted ladies handbag towards a collection of seasonal must-haves, such as the handbag earring, the handbag hat, the doll-sized shoulder bag, the quilted hip bag, the quilted Alice band and the outsize baguette bag.

Lagerfeld’s men’s fragrance selection comprises of Lagerfeld Cologne, introduced in 1978, KL Cologne, presented in 1986, Photo Cologne released in 1990 and Jako Cologne from 1997. The women’s perfume collection involves KL Perfume, presented in 1982, along with Sun Moon Stars Perfume and Lagerfeld Perfume unveiled in 2000.