Met Museum Exhibits – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

Karl Otto Lagerfeld’s contribution to fashion is enormous.

The son of a wealthy businessman, he was born on September 10th, 1933, in Hamburg, Germany. Following his family’s emigration to France, he initially was educated at St. Anne’s school. Lagerfeld completed his education at Lycée Montaigne, where he focused on drawing and history. He made history before he died on February 19th, 2019 (aged 85) in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.

Making His Story:

The latest Met Gala honoured the late designer, famous for giving re birth to Chanel at a time when fashion fanatics were starting to turn away from the classic brand in favour of more modern looks. Especially when Coco Chanel died in 1971 and the company was heading towards a fate of brands (like Balenciaga) starting to fail once their founders were no longer in place. Lagerfeld was determined to change that.

“I’m very much down to earth. Just not this earth.” – Karl Lagerfeld

He shifted the brand’s focus from fragrance to fashion.He ended up modernizing the classic pieces and making them once again, the most desirable in any woman’s wardrobe.

He also served as lead designer at Fendi for more than fifty years, as well as his eponymous line and a stint at Chloé and Patou.

Among his many talents, he was also a photographer, preferring to shoot his own ad campaigns. He wrote a book “off the record” – with photographs and sequences over the years shot in black and white. Often with models and costumes, his photographs are stylish, sensuous, literate, and full of fantasy and desire.

He was also the first to do a collaboration of 30 pieces with H&M in 2004. The entire line sold out in minutes, and led H&M to collaborate with a variety of other designers including Balmain and Moschino in following years. I was one of those to purchase a few choice fast fashion finds of Isabel Marant at H&M. Thank you Karl for that, and for my real Chanel treasures that I’ll never part with…because you made them desirable and timeless.

And now The Met Costume Institute’s spring 2023 exhibition will examine the work of Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019). Info on A Line of Beauty: