Karl Lagerfeld: What happens to Chanel when he retires?
Fashion czar, photographer, legend. Without him, Chanel would not be Chanel today. When Karl Lagerfeld does not show up at the two Chanel shows in Paris in January, speculation is huge. For 35 years he has been the chief designer of the French traditional fashion house - with a lifelong contract. This is unique in the fashion industry as we know it today.
Karl Lagerfeld designs eight women's collections per year for the fashion house, which was founded by Coco Chanel (1883-1971) in Paris in 1913. These include four ready-to-wear collections, two pre-collections (as well as ready-to-wear collections). Fashion) as well as two haute couture collections. A very nice performance for a man over eighty. Since 1983, he has been creating acclaimed creations every year, reviving the spirit of Coco Chanel every time.
His motto is "I'm very much down to earth. Just not to this earth" is one of his famous quotes. In his own way, Lagerfeld revives the spirit of the legendary fashion designer in the '80s as he moves from Chloé to Chanel with his modern and sometimes unconventional interpretations, which gave the brand its name. In addition to his skills as a fashion designer he is known for his snappy, amusing and direct style.
Parallels to Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel herself is responsible for the creations of her fashion house until her death. When she dies at the age of 87 on January 10, 1971, she still celebrates a great success with a posthumous collection. After that, several designers are trying to claim their inheritance, but only with Karl Lagerfeld in 1983, the old success again.
For more than five years now in the media and in expert circles has been rumored that the next show could be his last. Now is a retreat for the first time really in the room. Lagerfeld was tired, as Chanel explained at the Paris Fashion Week, why in the end Virginie Viard, the longtime studio manager, receives the last model.
However, Karl Lagerfeld does not seem to be thinking of ending his work as one of the most important designers in the fashion industry, no matter how little he is still in the limelight. The fashion czar does not even think about writing his memoirs in the near future. "I have not the slightest need to, although I get offers in the millions," said the fashion designer in December 2017 in the "Vogue" interview.
His famous predecessor, Coco Chanel, tells her eventful life much earlier to a writer. In 1946, at the age of 63, she had her conversations with the French author Paul Morand (1888-1976). The result is the biography "The art of being Chanel: Coco Chanel tells her life".
Who carries on the legend?
Karl Lagerfeld seems to have understood and internalized this art to perfection. He has managed to create a legend around him like the famous Frenchwoman - despite the great media spotlight. His age is estimated at 85, but that's not known. Anyway, if he turns his back on Chanel or even the public, one thing is certain: "The legend survives its object, the reality is dull, so you will always prefer the fantasy, this beautiful parasite," to Coco Chanels To say words. "May my legend go her way, I wish her a beautiful and long life!"
But as far as the future of the traditional fashion house is concerned, it will be difficult to find a worthy successor to Karl Lagerfeld, who knows how to continue Coco Chanel's legacy and to reinterpret it over and over again. The fashion tsar himself is likely to think of it as the famous and revolutionary fashion designer: "As long as I live, I'll never retire."
