A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post that tied together Karl Lagerfeld's recent Chanel show and Emma Watson's speech in aid of 'He for She' for the UN.
Before I saw the Chanel show in the news that day, I have to admit, I didn't know all that much about Karl Lagerfeld, the man behind the label. Karl to me was the-man-in-black-with-the-funny-sunglasses. As such, he was quite an enigma. As for Chanel, well, it's hip but bourgeois look is our first 'fashion memory'.
Karl Lagerfeld is actually the man behind Chanel, Fendi and his own Lagerfeld Gallery line. In Japan, his appearances have caused riots! He seems to always design beautiful and contemporary clothes, but more than anything, I was struck when doing the research for this article at how intelligent he clearly is! He speaks four languages fluently, shows at least ten collections every year, knows photography, and is also a book publisher.
Getting Started
He got started in fashion by winning a contest, rather than by going to a design college. The contest was for the International Wool Secretariat and asked for sketches of coats, dresses and boots. He won first prize for his design for a coat. The prize was that the coat would be made by Balmain. When Balmain asked him what he wanted to do later on, rather than tell them that he was still at school, he said that he liked the idea of working in fashion in the future, so they offered him a position at their couture house! His parents told him to have a go, and if he didn't like it, he could always go back to school later. Apparently, he didn't like it all that much, but then, who wants to go back to school if you don't have to. So, he's said that for the first two years it was the 'idea of going back to school that kept me in fashion'.
He is quite an interesting character by the looks of things - rather opinionated, and quite prone to controversy. Weirdly, this all makes me more and more interested in him. I guess that's kind of the point!
Drive
He lost nearly 100lbs in 13 months in 2001 (... wow), and he cited the cause as being - 'I suddenly wanted to wear... all these clothes... modeled by very, very slim boys, and not men my age - and [this] required me to lose about 40kg. It took me exactly 13 months.' He wrote a book about it 'The Karl Lagerfeld Diet', that sold 5 million copies all over the world - every country bought a copy[!] He's said that since he started the diet he 'hasn't touched what I'm not supposed to: sugar, cheese, nothing! I don't even look at it. It looks like plastic!'
If you take his weight loss regime as an indicator for this man's personal determination, I'd say that he's got drive in leaps and bounds. That's reflected in a lot of his other work too - with ten collections a year, he can't really take all that much time off! He said: 'why would I? You have to take time off if you have a boring job. But my job is perfect... What I like about the job, is the job.'
Self-Belief
He's a lucky guy - we don't all just fall into jobs like that. But the thing I do admire about him is that he believes in his own image. It's that self-belief that I think makes all successful people in the end. Lagerfeld is prime example of how even if you are a total sham, if you believe in your own total sham, you can make other people believe it too.
Next time you're really intimidated by someone who you believe to be powerful, intelligent and confident, know that they're probably not quite as powerful, intelligent and confident as you think. They just believe they are. And so you believe they are. And that's all that matters.
Favourite Quotes
'"Doing" is fun. "Having done" is a bore, no?'
'You don't buy the stones to impress other people, though - you buy them to please yourself.'
'You must always mix the expected with the unexpected. The trick is to keep your eyes open.'
'I'm not really inspired in that sense - because I don't want to do what other people did. The real inspirations to me are the people in old photographs.'
'When I was a child, I only had one ambition: let's get out of here. I wanted to be grown-up...I did not look back. And I still haven't.'
Enlightenment?
I have to admit. I don't feel like I know much more about Lagerfeld than when I first started writing this. He's still that man with the white hair, dark glasses and high collars.
But the more I'm reading about him, the more I, oddly, and despite the stupid remarks he has made, am actually quite liking him. I think it's the irreverence, the sense of fun, and the sheer bloody-mindedness of him.
He won't do what other people expect, simply because he doesn't want to be expected, and for no other reason. Whilst I appreciate that that's not really a trait I would like to emulate myself, I do admire someone with a bit of spunk. I think, most of all, it's the belief in his own fictitious character that I find amazing. Who is Karl? I think that's something we're never going to find out. And I think that's probably the key to his success.
Enjoy today!
rosinaviolets x
