Karl Lagerfeld: The Master of the Game

Karl Lagerfeld (born Karl Otto Lagerfeldt, 10 September 1933) is 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 label fashion house. 

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.

One of the most acclaimed fashion designers in the world, Karl Lagerfeld was born in Hamburg, Germany. While he's never revealed his true birthday, it's been reported he was born September 10, 1933. Known for his bold designs and constant reinvention, he's been hailed Vogue magazine as the "unparalleled interpreter of the mood of the moment." 

What I enjoy most is doing something I've never done before.

– Karl Lagerfeld

Fashion designer. Born Karl Otto Lagerfeldt in Hamburg, Germany. While the famous fashion designer has never revealed the exact date of his birth, it's believed he was born on September 10, 1933. Often lauded for his constant reinvention, he removed the "t" at the end of his last name early in his career in order to make it sound "more commercial."

Lagerfeld's father, Christian, made his fortune by bringing condensed milk to Germany. Karl and his older sister, Martha, and a half sister, Thea, grew up ina wealthy home. Intellectual activity was encouraged at the Lagerfeld home. His mother, Elizabeth, was an accomplished violin player and talk at the dinner table often included subjects such as religious philosophy.

When Hitler rose to power in the 1930s, the Lagerfelds moved to a rural area of northern Germany, where, as Karl would later recount, he was cut off from any knowledge about the Nazis.
From an early age, Lagerfeld expressed an interest in design and fashion. 

 

As a child he often cut out pictures from fashion magazines. He was also known to be critical of what others wore to school. But it wasn't until his teen years, after his family had returned to Hamburg, that Legerfeld immersed himself in the world of high fashion.

 

Sensing his future lay elsewhere, 14-year-old Lagerfeld made the bold decision, with the blessing of his parents, to move to Paris. He'd been there just two years when he submitted a series of sketches and fabric samples to a design competition. He ended up taking first place in the coat category and meeting another winner, Yves Saint Laurent who would become a close friend.

 

Soon, Lagerfeld had full time work with French designer Pierre Balmain, first as a junior assistant, and later as an apprentice. It was a demanding position, and the young designer remained in it for three years. He took work as a creative director with another fashion house before finally, in 1961, striking out on his own.

 

Good work soon followed, with Lagerfeld designing collections for Chloe, Fendi (where he was brought on to oversee the company's fur line) and others. Lagerfeld became known in the fashion industry for his innovative, in-the-moment styles. But Lagerfeld also had an appreciation for the past, and he often shopped in flea markets, finding old wedding dresses to deconstruct.  

By the 1980s, Karl Lagerfeld was a major star in the fashion world. He was a favorite among the press, who loved to chronicle his changing tastes and social life. Lagerfeld kept company with other major stars, including his good friend Andy Warhol.

 

While he's developed a sort of hired gun reputation for jumping from one label to the next, he's also put together a track record of success that few designers can match.

• At Chanel in the early 1980s he did what few thought possible: He returned what was perceived to be a near-dead brand back to life with a revamped popular ready-to-wear lineup
  Around that time Lagerfeld launched his own label, in 1984, which he built around the idea of what he described as "intellectual sexiness."
  
  

•  0ver the years,  the brand developed a reputation for quality tailoring with bold ready-to-wear pieces like cardigan jackets in bright colors. In 2005 Lagerfeld sold the label to Tommy Hilfger.
  
  
  In recent years, Lagerfeld, whose work has crossed over into film and photography, has continued to maintain a busy schedule. In 2011 he designed a line of glassware for the Swedish company Orrefors.  

Karl Lagerfeld
“Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants.”