Written by Sean Ho
Undisputedly the most influential fashion designer of the 21st century has past away on Tuesday morning at the age of 85. Best known for his work as the creative director of Italian fashion house Fendi and French house Chanel, Lagerfeld missed his first Chanel show in January, where he would close the show by coming on stage and giving a final bow, leading to industry heads being worried for the designer’s health. Unfortunately, he passed away in Paris at a hospital on Tuesday morning. Honouring the esteemed man’s legacy, we’ve compiled 10 things you may not know about the legend.
His original name is actually Karl Otto Lagerfeldt
Karl changed his surname from Lagerfeldt to Largerfeld, because he believed it sounded “more commercial”.
His father owned a company that imports and produces evaporated milk
His father was a German businessman, who founded Lagerfeld & Co in 1919, which imported evaporated milk.
His dream was to become a cartoonist
Young Karl hoped to ply his trade and becoming a comic artist, but then realised he’ll make more money in fashion.
He has a Pepsi addiction
Karl keeps a butler on hand to follow him around at parties with a glass of Pepsi Max on a silver tray.
His pet cat lives like a king
Karl Lagerfeld has two personal maids tending to his Siamese cat’s activities when he’s not around.
He worked for Balmain prior to Channel
in 1954, he landed an apprenticeship with designer Pierre Balmain after winning a designing contest with a womenswear coat.
He owns two houses, each serving its own purpose
One home is just for sleeping and sketching while the other house is where he entertains guests and meets people. The house where he sleeps does not have kitchen; he has food brought to him.
Largerfeld practically owns a library
Karl owns a massive collection of books that stacks from the floor to the ceiling, albeit in a horizontal manner, not vertical.
He has a fridge in his bathroom to keep his skincare
To prevent his skin from aging, he stores a couple of skin care products that he keeps in a different fridge in his bathroom.
He wrote a book on weight loss
One morning in the turn of the new millennium, Karl woke up and decided he didn’t like his body image, and proceeded to lose 92 lbs within a span of a year. All because he wasn’t able to fit into Hedi Slimane’s collection. The diet was so successful, he decided to publish a book called ‘The Karl Lagerfeld Diet,’ which includes programs such as the ‘Spoonlight’ program, which he says ‘must be some sort of punishment’ in order for it to be effective.
