THE LUCKY SEVEN
1) SEBASTIEN JONDEAU, 45
A PART-TIME boxer and odd job man turned model, bodyguard and chauffeur (pictured above left with Lagerfeld and Baptiste Giabiconi), who was with the designer for two decades. He has been hailed by French media as ‘the true heir’ and is said to have ‘held the designer’s hand’ at the time of his death.
2) BAPTISTE GIABICONI, 31
A FRENCH model who was ‘like a son’ to the designer after they met at a nude modelling session in 2008 when he was 19. Giabiconi became Lagerfeld’s favoured model and he had a facsimile of him carved out of Belgian chocolate. Le Parisien claimed Giabiconi’s claim to the title has sparked ‘jealousies and dissensions’ between him and Jondeau.
3) JAKE DAVIES, 40
A CHISEL-JAWED, lean British model, originally from Yorkshire, whose main claim to fame before catching Lagerfeld’s eye was that in 2009 he briefly dated Amelle Berrabah of the Sugababes. He became another of his muses, starring in a number of campaigns — usually with his shirt off.
4) CAROLINE LEBAR, 55
PARISIAN Caroline Lebar is one of his longest-serving team members, and worked for him for more than 30 years, handling public relations and as head of communications for Lagerfeld’s fashion house.
5) FRANCOISE CACOTE
LAGERFELD’S housekeeper who became Choupette’s ‘nanny’, manages her social media account and lives with her in Paris, catering to her every need in Karl’s apartment, which has not yet been put on the market.
6) BRAD KROENIG, 41 ORIGINALLY from Oakfield, Missouri, Brad caught Lagerfeld’s eye after being pictured fully nude in an Abercrombie & Fitch shoot. The designer said that his best feature was ‘the curve of his thigh’ and after starting to work with him in 2003, shot a four-volume book Metamorphoses Of An American devoted solely to pictures he had taken of Brad. Married to Nicole, daughter of famous tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, Brad is one of the most successful male models in the world. 7) HUDSON KROENIG, 12
BRAD’S son and Lagerfeld’s godson. Hudson (pictured below right with his brother Jameson and Lagerfeld) has been appearing in Chanel shows since he was two and Lagerfeld once put the boy in £1 million worth of diamonds for a fashion show. He called him ‘the little prince’. Model Amanda Harlech said: ‘Karl is fascinated by being so close to a young mind.’
PLUS ONE VERY PAMPERED CAT . . .
LAGERFELD described blueeyed Choupette as ‘the centre of his world’, saying: ‘She is a kind of Greta Garbo. It’s the way she moves, the way she plays. There’s something unforgettable about her. She is an inspiration for elegance.’ From 2011, Chanel suddenly included a new colour called ‘Choupette blue’ and the Karl Lagerfeld brand put out a range of Choupette face handbags. A hardback book, Choupette, was published in 2019 and sold out. All royalties went to Choupette — a registered business with a bank account. She is said to have made £2.5 million from numerous advertising campaigns, and has her own agent and Instagram page.