c

cc c

c c ccccccc c
cc
c c c c
c c Karl Lagerfeld was born on September 10, 1938, in Hamburg,

Germany. His Swedish father became wealthy by introducing powdered milk

to Europe. Lagerfeld¶s mother was said to be very fashionable and was Karl¶s

inspiration to become a designer. Even though young Karl excelled at his

academic studies and was taught to speak several different languages, his

main focus and passion was fashion. Lagerfeld recalls sketching in his free

time as young as five years of age.

When Karl was a teenager the idea of Haute Couture came about and

when he was fourteen years of age, he was sent to Paris to study fashion. In

1954 Lagerfeld sent one of his sketches to the International Wool Secretariat

Competition, the judges included designers such as Pierre Balmain, Jacques

Fath, and Hubert Givenchy. Lagerfeld won first award for best coach sketch.

c
c

£he other designers and judges saw the talent and desire that Karl had, they

knew from the start what he was capable of. c

c cccccc 
c c c
cc
c Shortly after that, Pierre Balmain offered Lagerfeld a job working in his

couture house. For three years he work side by side with the designer at his

design house and learned the ins and outs of designing and fashion. In

1958, at 20 years old, Karl was designing two collections a year as chief

designer for the house of Jean Patou, where he worked until 1963. At that

time Lagerfeld restraint and grew bored; he wanted to break down the walls

of his creativity and put it to good use.

In 1963 Lagerfeld began working for several French and Italian design

houses as a freelancer. He designed fur and ready to wear collections for the

Fendi sisters, he also began working for the French house Chloe and at that

time he launched their namesake perfume. In this time he also launched his

own fragrance¶s, "Lagerfeld for Men," followed by "KL" and "KL Homme."

After establishing a recordable reputation Karl Lagerfeld became head

designer and director of Chanel. Following Coco Chanel¶s death in 1971, the

design house had fallen from ³fashion grace´. He brought Chanel back up

on the fashion scene where the house originally belonged. He kept the
c

c
c

classic Chanel image but modified it a bit with his own personal authentic

touches. Lagerfeld¶s eye capturing designs and originality became a part of

the Chanel brand. c c c c c c c c c c

c c c cccccccccccc

c c ccccc
c c c c Karl Lagerfeld is not just a fashion designer, he is a

visionary. He is highly influenced by theater, film, music, visual art and

photography. He has created elaborate costumes for many different theater

productions and films throughout Europe. Lagerfeld has published a couple

of different photography books in which he shoots from his perspective on

how things should look. He photographs campaigns for Chanel and his own

fashion house. Karl has a keen sense of style and perception on art. c


c
cc c c
c c Karl is known for his edgy chic look. His personal style has not

evolved much since his start in the industry. On a normal day you can see

Lagerfeld in a black suit, button down shirt, tie, black aviator sun glasses,

black fingerless leather gloves and his white hair slicked back. He designs

clothes based on what he thinks looks good on a woman. He believes that

style and fashion define who you are and what you are about. £o Lagerfeld
c

c
c

appearance is essentially everything.

Karl mixes modern with classic; one of his favorite looks is a Chanel

tweed blazer and a pair of jeans. He adds personality and edge to fashion,

with Karl; it¶s never too much and never too little. Lagerfeld includes tweed,

leather, silk and faux fur in many of his designs. He likes to combine

different textures and textiles. c

cccccccccccccccccccc cc

c 
cc c
c According to Quant Cast the Chanel Consumer is female ranging from

the ages of eighteen to thirty four. £hirty four percent of the Chanel

consumers earn a yearly salary of a hundred thousand dollars. Chanel is

considered a high end label and their prices reflect their title and status. £he

loyal consumer of the Chanel brand leads a luxurious lifestyle where their

discretionary income is high to say the least.


c

c c c c
c Lagerfeld is considered a pioneer in the fashion world and a man

whose vision is timeless and could never be replicated. He is known as the

man who brought Chanel back to the very top without eliminating the classic

and feminine look that Coco Chanel originally created. He has contributed his
c

c
c

keen sense of style and perspective of beauty to various well known fashion

houses while maintaining his very own House of Lagerfeld. He is a well

respected member of the fashion community and even the most talented

and well known fashion leaders admire him.

I truly believe that Lagerfeld is one of the top fashion leaders of all

time. Even from such a young age his recognized his talent and passion for

fashion and did all he could to share his vision with the world. Karl is one of

those people who even after they are gone will leave a strong mark in the

fashion world and their work will be treasured for lifetimes to come.

[


 
 

     
                    

 

 c

Ô

 
krebs, Jost. "karl Lagerfeld." ½

. Web.
c

c
c

http://www.infomat.com/whoswho/karllagerfeld.html.

Kotur, Alexandra. "it girl in Paris." o
. September 2010: 406, 410.
Print.

Images:

"Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel." 

 . Web. 13 Sep 2010.

http://www.ruby-talk.com/2010/07/22/karl-lagerfeld-inspired-by-coco-chan

els/.

"Celebrities in Lagerfeld." 

. Web. 13 Sep 2010.

<http://www.instyle.com/instyle/celebrities/lookoftheday/photos/0

"Chanel Fall 2010 Campaign ." o
. September 2010: Print.

ë

grap :

"Lagerfeld Photography." Œ 

. Web. 13 Sep 2010.

<http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f71/karl-lagerfeld-photographer-47580.

html>

c
c