Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Otto Lagerfeldis a German fashion designer, artist, and photographer based in Paris. He is the head designer and creative director of the fashion house Chanel as well as the Italian house Fendi and his own fashion label. Over the decades, he has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art-related projects. He is well recognized around the world for his trademark white hair, black glasses, and high starched collars...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionFashion Designer
Date of Birth10 September 1933
CityHamburg, Germany
CountryGermany
I only wear the latest thing. It's my job.
I'm very happy that I have an Italian version, a French version, and then I have my own company, but I'm not obsessed by my name. Some people are, "Oh, my name," but I couldn't care less about my name. What I like is the job. The ego trip of that comes later.
I do my job like I breathe.
I like to reinvent myself — it’s part of my job.
I do my job like I breathe — so if I can’t breathe I’m in trouble.
I'm a very down-to-earth person, but it is my job to make that earth more pleasant.
People who do a job that claims to be creative have to be alone to recharge their batteries. You can’t live 24 hours a day in the spotlight and remain creative. For people like me, solitude is a victory.
My job is to bring out in people what they wouldn't dare do themselves.
If you're not ready to do a non-stop dialogue with fashion, you should do another job.
I hate amateurs. I hate unprofessional people. There are enough people who can do jobs decently that there's no reason that people who cannot do them decently [should] pretend to be great at it.
Everything is about cut. But worse than couture cuts. The dresses from far away, you think that it is a little T-shirt. And then you get near to it, you are scared by the craftsmanship put into that dress.
Every coat is different and in every kind of material,
It does not worry me personally - I like communication and visibility - but then I don't have to think about commerce. I like the idea of seeing it everywhere. Designers can't live in an ivory tower. And to copy well is as difficult now as it was in the past.
My family is from there. I thought it was my moment in time to show a little of what this part of Europe is all about -- the poetry, the inspiration, the art and the spirit and the feeling of that area.