Karl Lagerfeld is a fashion icon and is described as the most powerful man in the fashion industry. Born in 1933 in Germany as Karl Otto Lagerfeldt, Karl then changed his name to Lagerfield because he thought it sounded more commercial.
The family is rich, with his father Otto becoming an entrepreneur who has a factory for condensed milk production. Karl made a habit of trying to hide his two origins and date of his birth. He claimed that his parents were Elisabeth from Germany and Otto Ludwig Lagerfeldt from Sweden, although his mother never called himself that his father also had a connection with Sweden. Despite various pieces of evidence that proves that he was born in 1933, he claimed that he was actually born in 1938, even though he then changed his opinion.
He finished private school in Hamburg, before registering with Lycée Montaigne in Paris. He majored in design and drawing. After spending three years as assistant to Pierre Balmain, he took a job with Jean Patou. For the next five years, he designed two collections every year.
The first is well received by the press. In 1960, he managed to surprise Paris to create the shortest skirt ever seen. Disappointed with criticism, he quit the job. He then said about that period: “” I was bored there, and I stopped and tried back to school, but it didn’t work, so I spent two years mostly on the beach – I think I learned to live. “
He returned after a hiatus, this time working for Tiziani. His first collection was a great success and stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Gina Lollobrigida, Doris Duke, and Princess Marcella Borghese became their customers. His international breakthrough came in 1982, through collaboration with Japanese fashion giants Isetan. In 1983, he became the creative director of the French luxury luxury home Channel, a post he held until his death in 2019.
Karl Lagerfeld’s fashion collection has brought its luck, which he used to buy homes and apartments in various parts of the world. He has an apartment in Paris at Rue de l’Université, an 18th-century castle in Brittany, named Château de Penhoët, Villa La Vigie in Monaco and Villa Jako in Hamburg, his birthplace. He also has El Horrian summer Villa in Biarritz, a house in Vermont and two more houses in Paris. Karl Lagerfield’s net wealth is estimated at $ 200 million.