BACKGROUNDKarl Lagerfeld (born Karl Otto Lagerfeldt; September 10, 1933[1] ) is a German-born fashion designer and artist based in Paris, France. He has collaborated with on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel. Lagerfeld helms his own label fashion house, as well as the Italian house Fendi, both of which produce luxury fashion items (including perfumes and accessories).
In his 25 years as creative director of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld has not only safeguarded the towering legacy of Coco Chanel but has also enhanced it by turning the house into one of the most powerful and profitable brands in the world.
When Lagerfeld joined Chanel in 1983 to design haute couture, his résumé was already impressive; he was serving simultaneously as creative director of Chloé and Fendi. (To this day he remains the creative director of the Italian label, in addition to overseeing his eponymous line, Karl Lagerfeld.) At the time, Chanel was still languishing in the wake of Mademoiselle's death in 1971