Karl Lagerfeld

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 oined Chanel in !"#$ to design haute couture, his r%sum% was already
impressive& he was serving simultaneously as creative director of Chlo% and 'endi. ()o
this day he remains the creative director of the Italian label, in addition to overseeing his
eponymous line, Karl Lagerfeld.* +t the time, Chanel was still languishing in the wa,e of
-ademoiselle.s death in !"/!, subsisting largely on sales from its best0selling fragrance,
Chanel 1o. 5. In !"#2 Lagerfeld also assumed control of Chanel.s ready0to0wear
collection and swiftly began to reinvigorate the brand. 3e sifted through the house.s
archives, incorporating such signature Chanel details as tweed fabrics, pearls, gold
chains, and the double0C logo, but showing them in a se4y, youthful, and5most
importantly5irreverent way. +s Vogue maga6ine wrote in 2772, 83e made sensational
shows, subverting and redefining the Chanel loo, in every way imaginable (trashing,
slashing, parodying if need be* but perpetually filling the stores with a fresh supply of
wearable se4y clothes.8
+long the way, Lagerfeld has become something of a legend himself. With his white
powdered ponytail, signature blac, sunglasses, and fingerless blac, gloves, he is the most
recogni6able fashion designer in the world. 3e is also touted as the industry.s resident
9enaissance man. In addition to the numerous collections he puts out each year, he owns
the :arisian boo,store /L and has his own publishing imprint, ;dition /L. 3e has
received si4 awards from the C'<+, including a Lifetime +chievement nod in 2772.
)rong 25 n=m c>a ?ng l@ giAm BCc sAng tDo c>a Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld BE ,h?ng chF
safeguarded nhGng di sHn cao chIt vIt c>a Coco Chanel nhJng cKng BE t=ng cJLng nI
bMng cAch biNn ng?i nh@ th@nh mOt trong nhGng thJPng hiQu mDnh v@ lRi nhuSn trTn thN
giUi.
Khi tham gia Lagerfeld Chanel v@o n=m !"#$ BV thiNt ,N 3aute couture, lW lXch c>a ?ng
BE gYy Zn tJRng& ?ng BJRc ph[c v[ B\ng thLi l@ giAm BCc sAng tDo c>a Chlo v@ 'endi.
(]V ng@y n@y, ?ng v^n l@ giAm BCc sAng tDo c>a nhEn tiNng _, ngo@i viQc giAm sAt BJLng
c`ng tTn c>a ?ng, Karl Lagerfeld.* a@o thLi gian n@y, Chanel v^n ,h?ng hoDt B?bng trong
sc trdi dSy c>a cAi chNt c>a -ademoiselle v@o n=m !"/!, phen lUn v@o viQc bAn h@ng t\n
tf tCt nhZt c>a mgnh 0bAn nJUc hoa, Chanel sC 5. 1=m !"#2, Lagerfeld cKng giH BXnh
,iVm soAt c>a Chanel.s ready0to0mhc bO sJu tSp v@ nhanh chIng bit Beu reinvigorate
thJPng hiQu. jng sifted th?ng kua ,ho lJu trG c>a ng?i nh@, ,Nt hRp cAc chG ,W Chanel
chi tiNt nhJ vHi tweed, nglc trai, dYy chuymn v@ng, v@ B?i logo C, nhJng hiVn thX chnng
trong mOt se4y, tro trung, v@ kuan trlng nhZt l@ chimu irreverent. )heo tDp chp aogue BE
viNt v@o n=m 2772, 8jng Zy BE cho thZy sensational, subverting v@ 9edefining viQc 4em
4%t Chanel trong mli cAch tJqng tJRng ()rashing, slashing, parodying nNu cen thiNt*
nhJng perpetually Bimn cAc cra h@ng vUi mOt ngu\n cung cZp tJPi mhc kuen Ao se4y.8
<lc theo con BJLng, mOt cAi gg BI Lagerfeld BE trq th@nh mOt truymn thuyNt c>a mgnh.
aUi ponytail bOt c>a mgnh m@u tring, chG ,W ,pnh rYm Ben, v@ g=ng tay Ben ngIn, ?ng l@
nh@ thiNt ,N thLi trang ds nhSn biNt nhZt trTn thN giUi. jng cKng l@ ngJLi B@n ?ng ch@o
h@ng nhJ c>a ng@nh c?ng nghiQp 9enaissance trn. 1go@i nhGng bO sJu tSp rZt nhimu ?ng
Bht ra mdi n=m, ?ng sq hGu /L hiQu sAch c>a :aris v@ cI chi nhAnh nh@ 4uZt bHn riTng
c>a mgnh, bHn /L. jng BE nhSn BJRc sAu giHi thJqng tf C'<+, bao g\m mOt gSt )h@nh
tcu trln BLi v@o n=m 2772
tabrielle 8Coco8 Chanel (!##$0!"/!* distinguished her design aesthetic through a strict
insistence on comfortable, lightweight garments and a pared0down silhouette. Chanel.s
interest in simplicity is seen in her earliest millinery designs from the !"!7s, which relied
on a single, dramatic embellishment for decoration rather than the 8assemblage of
materials8 then in vogue.! )his interest in 8less is more8 also demonstrated itself in her
earliest garment designs, ready0made suits and dresses often made from ine4pensive wool
ersey. )hese garments, almost the e4act opposite of popular feminine fashions, launched
Chanel.s career. )hroughout her career, Chanel adhered to the basic principle of crafting
soft, lightweight fabrics into functional (yet lu4urious* garments.
)hough Chanel produced a variety of garment types throughout her career, one that
reappeared over and over was the suit. uorrowing from menswear, Chanel created a
feminine suit which offered ease of movement and capitali6ed on the implication of
power inherent in the masculine suit. )he basic, stripped down silhouette remained
consistent, but the te4tiles changed with the times. It became a classic and functions
today as shorthand for the designer herself.
tabrielle 8Coco8 Chanel (!##$0!"/!* phYn biQt thvm mw thiNt ,N c>a mgnh th?ng kua
mOt ,h=ng ,h=ng nghiTm nght vm thoHi mAi, h@ng may mhc nhx v@ mOt pared 4uCng
bIng. Chanel.s kuan tYm BNn BPn giHn l@ thZy trong cAc m^u thiNt ,N c>a c? millinery
sUm nhZt tf thSp niTn !"!7, m@ dca v@o mOt t?n tDo Zn tJRng BPn lo, trang trp chy ,h?ng
phHi l@ tz hRp cAc 8vSt liQu8, sau BI trong vogue.! n@y kuan tYm BNn 8pt hPn8 cKng BE
chyng minh bHn thYn trong sUm nhZt thiNt ,N, may mhc, c? Zy s{n s@ng l@m ph` hRp v@
vAy thJLng BJRc l@m tf |ersey len ro. CAc sHn phvm may mhc, gen nhJ BCi diQn chpnh
4Ac c>a thLi trang nG tpnh phz biNn, phIng sc nghiQp c>a Chanel. )rong suCt sc nghiQp
c>a mgnh, Chanel t?n trlng cAc nguyTn tic cP bHn c>a Crafting mmm, vHi nhx v@o chyc
n=ng (chJa sang trlng* h@ng may mhc.
-hc d` Chanel sHn 4uZt nhimu loDi h@ng may mhc trong suCt sc nghiQp c>a mgnh, trong
BI 4uZt hiQn trq lDi hPn v@ hPn l@ ph` hRp. aay tf kuYn ao Ban ?ng, Chanel tDo ra mOt
ph` hRp vUi ph[ nG m@ BJRc cung cZp ds d@ng di chuyVn v@ hoa trTn ng[ W c>a kuymn
lcc vCn cI q ph` hRp vUi nam tpnh. CAc cP bHn, tJUc 4uCng bIng v^n nhZt kuAn, nhJng
dQt may thay Bzi vUi thLi gian. 1I trq th@nh mOt cz BiVn v@ chyc n=ng hiQn nay nhJ tCc
,W cho cAc nh@ thiNt ,N mgnh.