Karl Lagerfeld has a very creative background. He was a fashion designer, creative director, photographer, and caricaturist. His success story is an example of why people shouldn’t fear taking risks.
He was a prolific artist who lived through the 20th and 21st centuries. Often, people in the fashion industry label him as the definition of luxury.
Early Life:—
On September 10, 1933, Karl Lagerfeld was born in Hamburg, Germany. During his entire lifetime, he insisted that he was not born in 1933. He misrepresented his birth date and other details quite much.
Since childhood, he has had an interest in art. For instance, his friends said he was always seen drawing, irrespective of what was going on. Karl Lagerfeld said he learned more by visiting the Kunsthalle Hamburg Museum than from school.
He won the International Wool Secretariat’s coat design competition in 1955. After this competition, he befriended Yves Saint Laurent. Pierre Balmain hired him as an assistant. Later in 1964, he went to Rome to study art history. Simultaneously, he worked as a freelance designer for major fashion brands.
Fendi Rome hired him in 1967 to improvise their fur line. He made the entire collection look high-fashion.
Memorable Works:—
During the Nineteen Eighties, Chanel, the near-dead brand at that point, hired Karl Lagerfeld. Even the designers gave up on Chanel. But Karl Lagerfeld turned the tables with the creation of a ready-to-wear line for Chanel. He integrated the monograph of Coco Chanel, the interlocked ‘CC, into the designs.
The House of Chanel would’ve been a tremendous French tragedy. But it turned into Karl Lagerfeld, who believed in the label and worked hard for the position. Chanel is now counted among the predominant luxury brands.
Later in 1984, he installed his very own brand named ‘Karl Lagerfeld’. His reason for creating this brand was to combine intellectual sexiness’ with the fashion lines. He collaborated with many manufacturers, including Diesel, H&M, Vans, etc.
Awards and Recognition
1954 The International Wool Association’s competition in Paris awarded first place in the coat category.
The 2010 Fashion Visionary Award from the Couture Council of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology
2010 Commander’s Cross of the Legion of Honor (Croix de Commandeur de la Legion d’Honneur) by the French President
The 2015 Outstanding Achievement Award at the British Fashion Awards
2017 The Grand Vermeil medal, which is the highest honor in Paris, at Chanel’s Fall 2017 couture show
Lesson to learn:
An ordinary man from the city of Hamburg went to Paris and rocked the fashion industry. Everyone dreams of a luxurious life with very little work for it. For instance, Karl Lagerfeld said, ‘Improvise. Become more creative.
Not because you have to, but because you want to. Evolution is the secret to the next step.’ Similarly, people who work hard for their dreams are successful sooner or later.
Courtesy: Failure Before Success