Bid farewell

Prior to the auction of Karl Lagerfeld’s estate, Nick Vinson takes an exclusive tour of the designer’s Paris apartment at 8 Rue des Saint-pères

The estate of Karl Lagerfeld, who passed away in 2019, goes under the hammer at Sotheby’s this December. Held over two weeks, the auction will take place in Monaco, Paris and online, and among the treasures for sale are the contents of Lagerfeld’s neverbefore photographed apartment at 8 Rue des Saint-pères, which he purchased in 2008 and renovated himself.

The result is both modern and classic, with something wonderfully old-school about the back of the house, where mirrored double doors lead to hidden kitchens, bathrooms, storerooms and service entrances. Almost every wall is covered in shelving crammed with books, and there are more pieces here by the likes of Konstantin Grcic and the Bouroullecs than I have ever seen at an exhibition at Galerie Kreo, one of Lagerfeld’s favourite haunts. Yet what makes the apartment so unique is Lagerfeld’s inspired pairing of contemporary minimal design pieces with more decorative artworks. In the drawing room, a stark long black Bakelite desk by Maarten Van Severen is paired with a set of 19th-century Louis Xvi-style black lacquered chairs. A towering late 18th-century sculpture of two women holding an Athénienne stand, attributed to Nicolas-françois Daniel Lhuillier, sits next to a black ‘Quilt’ sofa by the Bouroullecs from Established & Sons.

There are works by Ron Gilad, Louis Süe and André Mare, and Marc Newson, as well as a purpose-built stainless steel desk with curved Perspex legs, a personal favourite of mine. There are also items classified as memorabilia, including Aston Martin dumbbells, Lagerfeld figurines from Tokidoki, a Simpsons poster featuring a Lagerfeld cameo, and items used by Choupette, the designer’s cat.

Lagerfeld probably wouldn’t have minded that his collection is being sold. He told me once that what he found interesting was to collect things, rather than to own them. There are around 4,000 catalogued items, and about 1,200 of these will go on sale at the December auctions. Good luck bidding for your Karl keepsake.

Above left, a desk in the upstairs bedroom, purpose built in stainless steel with curved Perspex legs, is precisely laid with stainless steel accessories holding pencils, notepads and ipods Above right, the entrance lobby hosts the six pieces from Konstantin Grcic’s ‘Volumes’ collection in Bleu de Savoie marble, which Lagerfeld bought from Galerie Kreo in duplicate, choosing to pair them up