The inventor
Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis checks in with the inimitable Karl Lagerfeld, whose designs took centre stage at the Met exhibition earlier this year.
Iignore all kinds of taboos. You cannot be in fashion and have taboos,” Karl Lagerfeld tells me two days before the Chanel haute couture presentation in Paris. We are at 31 Rue Cambon, sitting in his office, where his desk is stacked high with books, papers, magazines and knick-knacks. He pulls out a volume on Picasso’s series of paintings and sculpture, Head of a Woman. The fluid lines of these works, he says, inspired his fabulous runway beauty looks – the croissant-shaped buns and theatrical linedrawing eye make-up. He turns to Suzy Menkes on his left, to show her this season’s handsome press kit. “The theme is ecology,” he explains. The room is busy with his inner circle, among them Amanda Harlech, his long-time muse and right hand, and Virginie Viard, head of Chanel’s creative studio. Models float in and out – a fitting in full swing. Lagerfeld is multi-tasking, speaking three languages, utterly unfazed.
When I heard the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual costume exhibition was all about exploring fashion in an age of technology, the handmade versus the machine-made, I could not think of anyone better to talk to than Karl Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld’s vision – he never tires of pointing out – is always about the Now. (He shudders when I ask about fashion’s recent 90s references. “I was there the first time round,” he says.) Maybe that is why his vision is so relevant: he successfully bridges the old world with the new – with technology, with the Zeitgeist, with all of our latest obsessions. The Chanel show he’s preparing will push beyond the confines of a world populated by clients wealthy enough to shop from it.
Chanel is the most-featured label in the Met exhibition, with a spectacular wedding gown from 2014 serving as a centrepiece. “When I saw it on the runway I was struck by how perfectly it reconciled the aesthetics of the handmade and the machine-made,” says Andrew Bolton, Costume Institute curator in charge. The gown is made of ivory neoprene with a train embellished with a computergenerated image, then hand-painted in gold and embroidered with pearls – a perfect example of old and new techniques holding hands. “Karl has an insatiable hunger for the new, and he’s not a snob about his interests and references,” adds Bolton.
Spending time with Karl is memorable, with his wicked sense of humour, his conversation and robust appetite for knowledge.
On this cold morning in Paris, while I sit beside the master, a glittering and dainty cape floats through the room. Another look walks in, and the seamstress is quickly told to shorten the hem. Next up is model Lindsey Wixson, wearing a stunning grey, jewelled, low-cut gown. Karl compliments her warmly. Meanwhile, I can’t keep my eyes off a big tray of Chanel’s newest couture accessories: beautiful bee-shaped brooches with coloured stones.
Lagerfeld jumps from topic to topic, from his cat, Choupette, to the collection to my mother to current affairs. I’m definitely not under any illusion that I’m conducting an interview. Is there a taboo when it comes to wearing Chanel haute couture? I ask. “Women can do whatever they want with a dress, as long as they are happy with it,” he says. I show him one of my most-liked
HIS VISION – HE NEVER TIRES OF POINTING OUT – IS ALWAYS ABOUT THE NOW
Instagram pictures: I’m wearing pink Chanel haute couture, standing proudly next to the pink lace cradle I was baptised in. For my niece’s baptism I borrowed the ensemble from my mother. She scolded me for mismatching the jacket and skirt. I want to know: is it okay to tear couture apart? He nods approvingly. “I call this home styling.”
Gwyneth Paltrow wanders in and plops down next to Lagerfeld. “This collection is perfect for you,” he says. “It’s all about the environment.” He pulls out his iPhone to show us a video of the spectacular set. Then we are spoiled with video after video of his beloved cat. And once the iPhones are out, an inevitable round of selfies follow – even at Maison Chanel. Suzy gets going first, capturing Paltrow and Lagerfeld. But I want a shot, too, and so does Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld is up to scratch with the workings of a great selfie. The lighting needs to be right, he says. “No, not that angle. No, no, no … not there. No, Elisabeth, flatten your jacket!” Finally he is happy. Another sip from his big crystal cup of ice-cold Diet Coke, which is magically and continually refilled.
Couture seems to have come full circle for Lagerfeld this season. At the autumn/winter ’16/’17 ready-to-wear show in Paris, every guest sat on a golden chair along the front row, a logistical coup for such a vast crowd, and very much reminiscent of how collections were shown to couture clients once upon a time. Such up-close access to the clothes provides a sense of intimacy and exclusivity, even amid the spectacle of an ambitious show.
I walk through the Chanel atelier. Seamstresses are labouring away at long tables covered in white tablecloths. You can hear a pin drop. It is shocking how composed they are. One of my favourite looks is a black sequined gown with delicate sleeves appliquéed with little bees, which, on closer inspection, I find are made of feathers. I’m told it took 1,230 hours to make!
If only these walls could speak, I tell myself. Imagine all the whispers and stories of commissions, the names, dramas and secrets quietly overheard here! Is couture still fashion’s fuel? I ask Lagerfeld. “It has to be something that fuels today. If not, there is no reason for it to exist.”