Karl Lagerfeld – When the king closes his eyes

All his life devoted to fashion and appearing in flashy stories, secrets of private life, always radiating the glory as a true “king” of the world Haute Couture … The influence of Karl Lagerfeld has embraced the whole era, creating an eternal legend in the fashion era of the 20th century.

“They offered me a fortune to write my life memoirs. I never want to do that. Because I do not have time, and by the time I have time, it will be too late. Posterity, no thanks Paradise now! Heaven is here!”

The white-haired king Karl Lagerfeld taught us a philosophical lesson about the “present moment,” where there is no place for nostalgia, thinking of the past is meaningless. However, on February 19, the whole world was faced with a reality and bowed to the great man of high fashion. He led all fashion lovers to acknowledge and believe in immortality, eternity. Karl always liked to embellish his life in the circle of fake rumors, interspersed with many mysterious pieces of everyday life. It is hard to write down these things: The white-haired man who always wears the black glasses of high fashion has passed away. Now we can be sure that he devoted 68 years of his life to one thing: fashion.

The image of Karl Lagerfeld with silver hair tied in a ponytail, dark glasses and suit became a symbol.

From the day he won the first prize in the jacket design category from a competition organized by the International Wool Secretariat, then joined Pierre Balmain; everyone saw Karl Lagerfeld’s enthusiasm and unwavering determination. When he was creative director at Jean Patou’s fashion house, Karl made 50 designs for two seasons each year. But all of that was never enough for a 20-year-old boy. The scholar Karl Lagerfeld that year had a strong desire to be different and work as an independent designer. So, he left Jean Patou and started to design for Chloé (1963), Fendi (1965) and build his own brand.

Then in 1983, as we all know, Karl decided to become Chanel’s Creative Director, where he was tasked with rebuilding an empire on the decline. When asked how to reconcile such things, he replied: “I am a butterfly in fashion. My ego, my creativity, is not a mess. I love being everywhere, seeing what is going on, it all inspires me.”

Karl Lagerfeld directly with the crew of the Chanel Métiers d’Art Paris – Hamburg 2017 – 2018.

Karl’s destiny is here, between velvety silk velvet and gorgeous dresses. When asked, “Do you keep the dresses you designed?” Karl answered, “No, I did not hold them.” I like to destroy everything and rebuild it. That’s why I like the title of Marguerite Duras’s book: Détruire, dit-elle (Destroy, She Said), that’s my motto. I do not care about the past.”

The information is different about each year he was born. Even his appearance is a mystery to the public. As if each appearance, the white-haired prince opened a new chapter, bringing one surprise after another. Body “bodybuilding” 1960s, dark glasses, ponytail and paper fan in the 1980s.

“One day everything will end, I wonder when that is? I do not worship my past and never want to relive. Never!”.

In 2017, the emperor of Chanel decided to introduce the Métiers d’Art collection in his hometown of Hamburg, Germany. The whole world has seen images of people who have lived in Karl’s past. But it is still too little to tell the biography of the person who became the soul of high fashion, who does not need anyone to adjust his life.

Being enlightened, Karl is like the 18th century thinkers and artists he admires – he is passionate about the enlightenment. Karl Lagerfeld – the founder – always has the most beautiful words, always an enriched anecdote every day, always saying harsh words. Karl is a global concern. He was born in 1933? 1935? 1938? Who cares! He designed the outfits for the lovely and modern young women during the years of cooperation with Chloé.

Karl Lagerfeld last came out to greet the guests after Chanel’s 2019-2020 Métiers d’Art collection in New York.

When he joined Chanel, he considered how to make Chanel’s timeless hallmarks stand in the contemporary space. The colorful fun jean designs and colorful suits came into being in the 1990’s, were performed by top models at the time and became an inspiration for modern designers. And also we cannot forget the 2.55 transparent bags, graffiti drawings in high-end designs, the beauty of Inès de La Fressange or Claudia Schiffer …

Colorful life and society are always reproduced in the shows of Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld is the creator, the soul of those catwalks. So, it is no exaggeration to say that Karl Lagerfeld is a sociologist of the era, who turned Chanel into the giant empire of the fabulous Haute Couture fashion.

Karl Lagerfeld appears everywhere. Where there is fashion, there are stories about him. Just with his existence, everything becomes luxurious and better. Karl cooperates with H&M; for printing their images on the design of Coca-Cola Light bottles, carrying out images for internal brand Zahia … Designers, creative directors, photographers, short filmmakers … in any field of people I still have to admire his talent. But few people know about his life?

It is in that mysterious loneliness, people intensely desire to know the real man behind the appearance of Karl Lagerfeld. And he was still as tight as the abdomen. That incredible autonomy made the Chanel empire’s boss one of the most fascinating figures of the century.

Karl instructs the model to pose for the Chanel Cruise 2018 Collection.

With ELLE, he always said kind and gentle words like this: “I came to Paris in 1952 and lived in a student hotel on the Sorbonne. I still remember a stall at the corner of Saint-Michel Boulevard. I ran there on Monday morning to buy the newly published ELLE. For me, ELLE represents Paris. ELLE helped me – an immigrant – integrate and feel the spirit of France.

Of course, the king does not belong to anyone, even though we all have a lot of respect for him. The compliments to Karl were as much as rain, they said he was always alive. Alain Wertheimer – Chanel CEO said, “Karl is a genius of art, generosity and special intuition that has helped him to lead the way during his time working here, bringing the Chanel fashion house worldwide”.

Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, said: “Karl Lagerfeld, a creative genius died, who helped Paris become the fashion capital of the world and Fendi became one of the most creative fashion houses in Italy. He is the most special person I have ever known, we owe him a lot for style and talent. The world fashion has lost a great inspiration.”

Karl made the sketch.

What would Karl Lagerfeld say if he heard these words of reverence? We can doubt that he would like it anyway, even if he bitterly defended. He once said: “One day everything will end, I wonder when that is?” I don’t worship my past and never want to relive. Never!”.