Many years ago, I made a film for the Money Programme about Chanel. We were taken by a fragrant phalanx of PR people to Coco Chanel’s apartment just off the Place Vendôme in Paris. We were told it was exactly how Mademoiselle, as they always referred to her, had left it. Her spectacles were lying there on a little desk. It felt as if we were at the still-beating heart of a personality cult.
Later on, we had an interview booked nearby with the great Karl Lagerfeld. He was fashionably late, and then unfashionably late and then, as the hours passed, the eternal wait came to feel rather fashionable all over again.
(September 10, 1933) Birth
Karl Otto Lagerfeld was born (it’s thought) on this day in Hamburg to Otto, a businessman who imported evaporated milk, and Elizabeth, a lingerie salesperson, although his true age remains a mystery to this day.
(January 1, 1940) Education
Expressing an interest in fashion and art from a young age, Lagerfeld went to a private school in Germany before attending Lycée Montaigne, a secondary school in Paris, where he majored in history and art. Thanks to his disputed birth date, these dates are estimated.
(January 1, 1955) Early years
Lagerfeld began his career as an assistant at Balmain, after winning a design competition. Three years later, he went to work for couturier Jean Patou.
(January 1, 1958) Early criticism
His first few collections were not well received. His dresses, inspired by the shape of the letter “K” for Karl, were met with boos from the press. His 1960 collection of skirts were deemed too short.
(January 1, 1960) Chloé
His breakthrough came when he started freelancing for Chloé in the 1960s and 1970s, where his velvet shorts and skirts inspired by Carmen Miranda were described as “high fashion” and “high camp”.
(January 1, 1965) Fendi
He began what would be a lifelong collaboration with Fendi, an Italian label known for its accessories and heavy use of fur.
(January 1, 1983) Chanel
Lagerfeld becomes chief designer for Chanel and swiftly becomes one of the industry’s most established and beloved designers. He swiftly introduces the interlocking CC logo, introduced updated versions of tweed and lots of gold, which have become Chanel’s most famous trademarks.
(February 19, 2004) High street
Lagerfeld collaborates with H&M on a capsule collection. It sells out in two days and marks the start of a burgeoning relationship between high end designers and the high street. In keeping with this new price point, Lagerfeld launches a semi-casual line, K Karl Lagerfeld.
(February 19, 2017) Industry leader
Chanel releases its financial figures for the first time, revealing it had made £1.35bn in 2016-2017, moving the brand from a specialist couturier into an “industry leader”. A year later, in a bid to remain relevant in a changing market, Chanel announced that it would ban fur and exotic skins from its collections.
(January 1, 2019) Last days
Lagerfeld is absent from the Chanel haute couture show in Paris, fuelling speculation about his health. On 18th February, it is confirmed that he was admitted to an American hospital for “unknown reasons”. His death is announced by the fashion house on 19th December.
Eventually he appeared and the phalanx collectively drew breath. I don’t think he had been interviewed by a large Brummie type before. We got on rather well. All I remember clearly is the moment I asked him about Coco – pardon me, Mademoiselle – and he said: “Huh! I tell you what kind of bitch she was!” One of the phalanx made a slight screaming noise.
That night, I stayed in a very small, cheap hotel room. At around 10pm there was a knock at the door from a chap bearing a huge bouquet of roses. There may well have been more than 50 stems. The card read: “Adrian. Love from Karl.”
I slept badly, mainly because the pollen in that tiny hotel room was overwhelming. In the small hours, gagging, I had to put the bouquet outside.
Come morning, I had a train to catch. Not really being the type to carry roses on trains, I gave them to a startled woman at the patisserie across the road.
“Pour moi?” she asked. “Oui,” said I. I’ll never know if it was his or a PR’s idea – but thanks anyway, Karl.
May you rest in peace. We’ll always have Paris.
