Karl Lagerfeld
The latter half of the twentieth century saw fashion evolve into a field where designers moved fluidly between couture, ready-to-wear, photography, and publishing. Karl Lagerfeld, born in Hamburg on September 10, 1933, worked across all of those disciplines and several more besides.
Lagerfeld built a career that took in fashion design, dressmaking, costume design, photography, fashion photography, film direction, publishing, and even postage stamp design. Working in both German and French, he operated across cultural and national lines throughout his life. He was also a collector, adding yet another dimension to a practice that resisted easy categorization. His range meant he was rarely confined to a single role at any given moment, contributing across creative fields simultaneously rather than moving from one to the next in sequence.
The honors Lagerfeld received reflected recognition from multiple countries and institutions. France awarded him the Commander of the Legion of Honour, while Germany recognized him with the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He also received the CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lucky Strike Designer Award, and the Berliner Bär. He died on February 19, 2019, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, having accumulated a body of work and a set of distinctions that stretched well beyond any single craft.
Quotes by Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld's insights on:
Reinvent new combinations of what you already own. Improvise. Become more creative. Not because you have to, but because you want to. Evolution is the secret for the next step.
We need houses as we need clothes, architecture stimulates fashion. It's like hunger and thirst – you need them both.
We need houses as we need clothes, architecture stimulates fashion. It's like hunger and thirst — you need them both.
One is never over-dressed or under-dressed with a Little Black Dress.” – Karl Lagerfeld 6. “One is never over-dressed or under-dressed with a Little Black Dress.