Kaiser Karl

Majbrit Weidemann, Editor-in-Chief

| 21 November 2009 | People

Packed with sharp black and white tailored looks, from mannish military jackets shown with flat motorcycle boots to fitted jackets and vests worn with skinny pants, his personal trademarks include a fan, a long ponytail for his powdered-white hair, ever-present black sunglasses, and fingerless black gloves. He is the most famous fashion designer in the world.

Karl Otto Lagerfeld was born in Hambrurg, Germany 1938 by German mother Elisabeth Bahlmann and Swedish father Otto Lagerfeldt ( Karl later changed his name to Lagerfeld ) He went to Paris in 1952, where he studied informally, with the ambition to become a fashion designer. "Kaiser Karl" as he is often reffered to, is the master of reinvention. He set about world domination as a multi talented artist and It is no wonder that he appears to be such a master of the fashion landscape. By 1997, Vogue crowned him the "unparalleled interpreter of the mood of the moment".

And even though there seems to be less and less of him due to his massive weight loss, his talent sees no limitations. Renowned as the industry's resident Renaissance man, he oversees the creative direction of both Chanel and Fendi, in addition to owning the Paris bookstore 7L, running his own publishing imprint, and working as a fashion photographer shooting his own ad campaigns and editorials. Then there's his art collection, his house collection, and his culture-vulture appetite, which runs the gamut from Louis XV furniture to music. (He is said to own more than 100 iPods and even moonlights as a DJ in the Grand Theft Auto IV video game.)

As if those aren't enough outlets for his creativity, Lagerfeld also boasts his own designer label, Karl Lagerfeld, which he started in 1998 under the name Lagerfeld Gallery and sold to Tommy Hilfiger in 2005. (He remains in creative control.)

When Lagerfeld lost 42 kg (roughly 92.6 pounds) in 13 months, his explanation was “...I suddenly wanted to dress differently, to wear clothes designed by Hedi Slimane,” he said. “But these fashions, modeled by very, very slim boys—and not men my age—required me to lose at least 40 kg. It took me exactly thirteen months.” The diet was created specially for Lagerfeld by Dr. Jean-Claude Houdret, which led to the book called "The Karl Lagerfeld Diet".