Lesser Known Facts about Karl Lagerfeld

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.