Karl
Lagerfeld is the name best known for reinvigorating the brand Chanel and
pushing it into creative and financial prosperity after the demise of its
founder Coco Chanel. The designer is famous for his merciless wit coupled with
a sharp tongue but there are some lesser known facts about him that you’d love
skimming through. Take a look here:
1.
He
was a polyglot and could fluently speak English, French, German and Italian.
2.
Lagerfeld
finished his secondary school at the Lycée Montaigne in Paris, where he majored
in drawing and history.
3.
He
wanted to become a cartoonist, but he chose to pursue fashion instead because
he thought he could make a living following a career in the latter.
4.
At
his first job in 1955, Lagerfeld was an assistant to Pierre Balmain. He then
went on to work with Fendi in 1967 and Chanel in 1983.
5.
The
flamboyant designer had a personal butler who carried his favorite drink Pepsi
in every party that he attended.
6.
He
stayed away from alcohol because it made him sleepy and didn’t smoke a
cigarette because he needed his hands for sketching.
7.
Lagerfeld
didn’t like drinking water because it was not tasty.
8.
His
flawless, ageless skin is a result of washing it every night, before bed.
9.
Reincarnation is the name of the movie that Karl directed
with Pharrell Williams.
10. In 1964 and 1965 he was
also freelancing for Chloé and Fendi, designing a few pieces in each collection
including some accessories and clothing for Fendi.
11. Lagerfeld used Shu Uemura’s
pressed eye shadows for sketching for years. He had a particular shade of red
made for himself only.
12. Chanel’s style
pattern exhibiting interlocked ‘CC’ was a brainchild of the man himself.
13. He launched his own
brand in 1984, built around the idea of what he described as ‘intellectual
sexiness.’ The brand’s popularity is attributed to quality tailoring along with
bold, ready-to-wear pieces in bright colors that caught everyone’s attention
instantly.
14. He was a bibliophile. Lagerfeld even opened a book shop in Paris
on Rue de Lille in 1999, to sell a personally-curated collection of books on
fine art, fashion, architecture, food, photography, and design.
15. ‘Lagerfeld Confidential’ is a documentary on him made by Vogue.
16. What does fashion Moghul smell like? Like ‘fresh, ironed linen’
according to ELLE. Lagerfeld launched his first line of fragrances under his
name in 2014, with a signature fragrance for men and one for women.
17. While he didn’t eat meat, neither did he wear fur, he defended using
it for his fashion. This drew him fury of animal rights activists like People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
18. At a fashion premiere in Lincoln Center in NYC, Karl was supposed
to be the target of pie-ing by PETA activists but it went astray and ended up
hitting Calvin Klein.
19. Lagerfeld is the subject of French reality TV series ‘Signé Chanel’.
20. He was in a long term relationship with socialite Jacques de
Bascher until his death in 1989.
