Whether you think Karl Lagerfeld is a terrible monster or you think he’s a brilliant, hilarious shade-throwing madman, can we all agree that Karl gives great interviews? And that his ability to give a good one-liner is practically an art in and of itself? Lagerfeld has a new interview with the New York Times in honor of his 50 year anniversary with Fendi. You can read the whole piece here – it’s full of amazing quotes, per usual. Some highlights:
On Choupette: “I have a famous cat,” said Mr. Lagerfeld, glancing over the cat-printed notepads offered to him and Choupette. Mr. Lagerfeld said he hoped the cat would become more famous than him. “Then I can disappear behind Choupette.”
He prefers working with women: “I’m not crazy to discuss fashion with men. I couldn’t care less about their opinion.”
He doesn’t believe in stress: “I don’t believe in it. It’s a job, one should not become hysterical.”
He hates celebrating any anniversary: “No, no, no, no. This is one of the sicknesses of our period, to look back. No, forget about it. Fashion is now and tomorrow. Who cares about the past? But at Fendi, they like to tour the past. In Germany, they made a huge exhibition of everything I did, Fendi, Chanel, Lagerfeld, Chloé and all that. I’m not even going to the show. I don’t care.”
No archives: “There’s no history. I don’t even have archives, myself. I keep nothing. What I like is to do — not the fact that I did. It doesn’t excite me at all. When people start to think that what they did in the past is perhaps even better than what they do now, they should stop. Lots of my colleagues, they have archives, they look at their dresses like they were Rembrandts! Please, forget about it.
He likes doing fur lines, haute fourrure: “The problem with fur. … For me, as long as people eat meat and wear leather, I don’t get the message. It’s very easy to say no fur, no fur, no fur, but it’s an industry. Who will pay for all the unemployment of the people if you suppress the industry of the fur? The hunters in the north for the sable, they have no other job, there is nothing else to do. Those organizations who are much against it, they are not Bill Gates.
Sympathy for the anti-fur people: “I’m very sympathetic. I hate the idea of killing animals in a horrible way, but I think all that improved a lot. I think a butcher shop is even worse. It’s like visiting a murder. It’s horrible, no? So I prefer not to know it.
Humor in fashion: “I don’t think that most of the designers have a very quick sense of humor. They take themselves very seriously because they want to be taken as artists. I think we are artisans. It’s an applied art. There’s nothing bad about that. If you want to do art, then show it in a gallery.
On selfies: “We live in the world of selfies. I don’t do selfies. But other people do, and they all want to do selfies with me. No, no, no. Thank God, Sébastien, my assistant, he’s mean to the people in the street, mean and rude. I’m a nice person.
His competition: “I don’t see it like competition. I like when there are many people who do good things, because you work better if there is competition than if there are only third-rate people. Paris cannot be Paris only with one. But from me to you, there are very few who have, in terms of craftsmanship, the craftsmanship of high-quality couture. For me, the best — I won’t talk about Chanel, because they have the biggest operation, with 250 workers for the whole couture — is Dior and Givenchy. The others, I prefer not to comment. I am not a fashion journalist.
So much shade, thrown with such a light touch. He likes Dior and Givenchy, but the rest? Third-rate people. Fendi wants to celebrate his 50 years with the fashion house and it’s not worth his time. Talk to a man about fashion? Please. Of course not. Lagerfeld also says he wants to die in his 90s, while still working. He doesn’t plan to retire at all. He takes his cues from Coco Chanel, who he says “died in the middle of a collection when she was in her nearly 90s.” So we’ve still got a long time to enjoy the wit & wisdom of Karl Lagerfeld.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
He cracks me up, but I still wish he wouldn’t do fur. I get that it’s hypocritical of me, because I do eat chicken and fish and wear leather. Some of his remarks are borderline crazy/offensive but he still makes me laugh. For example, he’s glad that his assistant is mean to people because he, himself, is so nice.
Right? Why is that? Why does he get a pass?
Who knows, but I refuse to stop loving this man.
Queen Choupette 4-Eva.
He should be the head chair for the fashion police.
I’ll tell you his godson is the luckiest kid in the world!
I think Karl Lagerfeld needs to retire.
Maybe he can’t see what he designs because of his eyesight or maybe it’s the thick sunglasses he wears ALL THE TIME but this atrocity needs to end.
Coco Chanel is now tossing and turning in her grave.
Chanel has really touched the lowest of the lows.
Chanel touched the lowest of the low when Coco Chanel sent the Nazis after the people she sold her company to in order to get control.
Don’t get it twisted. Chanel’s commercial success lies solely on Lagerfeld.
Oh Karl, I do adore you. Lovey, ignorance is not bliss in the fur business. There’s other materials that are very close that doesn’t cost lives. But I do love you Karl.
Exactly. This is exactly how I feel.
I love Uncle Karl. When I’m feeling blue, I ask myself, “How would Karl Lagerfeld respond to this?” Rather than “What would Jesus do?” it’s all about “What would Uncle Karl do?”
If nothing else, this tactic does help me to dress beautifully every day, and to remember that fabulosity is a characteristic trait of my authentic, natural self.
Can’t beat that with a stick, now can you?
🙂
Who is that cute kid with him? He kind of looks like mini Heath Ledger.
I think it’s Brad Koenig’s (model/muse) son.
The last post here was hilarious and highlighted their relationship.
I love fur. I have this amazing vintage fox fur coat that everyone (except my cats) loves.
I do agree w/ Karl — the fur industry has really cleaned up their act and is run much more humanely than it was up to the 1990s. Yet the animal rights industry (now arguably a richer revenue stream than fur) hasn’t refined their message to even acknowledge the changes furriers made at their insistence. I’m glad people are pushing back.
Why do you think that? It is not true at all. The fur industry has become even more cruel with the cheap production of fur in Asia.
People pushing back just means mankind is more selfish, lazier and greedier today than in the 90s.
+1
And, I don’t see why animal rights groups should “refine their message.” The bottom line is that despite whatever “humane” adaptations may have been put into effect, animals are still being killed for their pelts. Until that stops, nothing has really changed.
I don’t believe that everyone loves it. You could never be my friend; I wouldn’t even consider helping you with something if you came along in your fur coat.
By the way, your cats should be afraid of you. They have a beautiful fur as well.
natalie, So if Xazi was wearing her vintage fox fur coat and she had a life threatening emergency and you were the only one in sight, you would not help her under any circumstances. Kinda sad that in your world, a fox that had died 40 years ago or so is more important than a human being.
Hush up, Crypt Keeper.
This +10000. Everytime this disgusting guy opens his mouth irks me to no end. I would like to end him the same “humanely” way the fur industry does with foxes and minks.
There is no excuse for fur. None. It is cruel no matter what.
Karl is a divine curmudgeon and I can’t help but adore him! I do understand his comments about the double standards held when it comes to animal welfare/rights, and though he’s right, there’s neither a logical nor fair justification for the fur industry. I can’t identify which business is worse, because I’ve seen ample footage taken from factory farms and slaughter houses, as well as from fur farms — my verdict is that both are so gruesome, immoral, and horrifying that they’re worthy of the SAW franchise! I firmly believe that if the evidence ever reached mass media, the proverbial sh*t would hit the fan before these industries could say, “uh-oh!”
Businesses that supply fur, meat, and yes, even dairy and eggs, are hidden from public view for good reason. That said, while someone in leather shoes may appear hypocritical for slamming the fur industry, what should be remembered is that fur is a luxury and something that is acquired when at great expense when coveted. Leather, on the other hand, is abundant and therefore tricky to avoid (believe me, I try, and it can be a real b*tch of a task!)
The meat chicken and fur industry aren’t hidden from the public. People are aware. They just would rather not see what happens to the cow prior to eating that juicy steak or putting on those leather shoes and gloves. The cruelty to these animals has been shown many times. People turn a blind eye because it’s an inconvenient truth that in order for them to keep warm and eat well something has to suffer. It’s a cruel world.
I was gonna say, you can visit a lot of meat farming factory facility thingies, in Denmark for example.
You can see every step in the production.
http://www.vice.com/read/this-slaughterhouse-wants-you-to-see-where-your-meat-comes-from-814
Karl has too many double standards. I would even call them “double-double standards”.
Most animals killed for their fur aren’t hunted but bred in captivity under horrible conditions and them being deskinned alive is even worse.
Cows and pigs and chicken are bred in captivity under controlled conditions and killed quickly and hopefully withoug pain. There is a difference. And as they are killed for their flesh then one can use their skin and bones as well.
Eating meat / dairy / eggs is essential. Wearing fur is not. So putting these two things into the same category is somewhat deceptive.
Kat, I don’t understand your statement that leather is abundant but fur is a scarce luxury.
You’re right that many animals are farmed for fur, but I stand firmly by my comparison between fur and livestock farming! Unfortunately, we’ve been spoon-fed misconceptions about the role animals play in human nutrition for so long that we accept it as fact, not realising that agribusiness will spend over $100 million annually on advertising to convince people that their products are essential for proper health. There have been lots of fights among the USDA, meat, dairy & egg farmers, and prominent health experts, and as animal agribusiness has deep pockets and loads of lobbying power, they get to call a lot of the shots!
The latter is an industry that is directly involved people getting duped (and afflicted with heart disease, diabetes, various types of cancers, etc. as a result) as well as massive environmental destruction (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124815586). Harvard has been the most outspoken about the fallacies promoted by meat, dairy and egg industries, but sadly, we’re more exposed to advertising than we are to concrete research. Speaking on a personal note, giving up the so-called “essential” animal products resulted in me getting the best blood test results of my life and feeling much healthier. My nutritionist felt compelled to add that he’d omit animal products too, given the obvious health benefits, but as he’s French he “can’t forfeit cheese”.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2003/dec/13/foodanddrink.weekend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC5YCySv26M
Kat, I don’t understand your statement that leather is abundant but fur is a scarce luxury.
Hey there, what I meant was that fur is far more exclusive and expensive and therefore is purchased by/for women who want to show their affluence. Unless someone’s living in Siberian-low temperatures, there’s no need for fur, whereas leather shoes, purses and accessories (which tend to be essentials) can be found in virtually any store, and by contrast, an effort has to be made to avoid them. Part of the reason it’s abundant is because it’s a by-product of the meat industry, which fully capitalizes on its “stock”.
Im sure that he really cares about the jobs for the “hunters”.
Sarcasm?
I would agree that he probably doesn’t care much for his fellow human beings. One just has to take a look at his famished catwalk models. I doubt he would care if the dieting would be hurting the girls or not.
I agree with his comments about butchers. People who eat meat have no right to get on their high horse about the fur industry. They’re as bad as each other.
There’s a bit of a difference. Are people eating the mink and the sable before they use the fur? No. Leather is a byproduct of the meat industry. So is glue, some soaps, and tallow candles. Not much of the animal is wasted. With fur, only the animal’s pelt is used – to satisfy the vanity of snobs. I say snobs because if it were really all about keeping warm, the fur would be on the INSIDE of the coat, not the outside. They just want to show off the expensive item they bought. These days, there are other materials that can keep you warm without the cruelty.
Here in the U.S. (and hopefully, in many other countries) there are laws regulating the meat industry to greatly reduce cruelty and pain. They use captive bolt pistols or electrical stunning that renders the animal unconscious before slaughter. Many slaughterhouses use the method of corraling animals single file. The corrals have tight turns so that the animals aren’t stressed because they cannot see ahead, only the animal in front of it. Also, meat factories do not operate in secrecy.
With fur, the animals are often skinned alive or electrocuted to death in order to preserve the integrity of the fur. There is no regard for the animal’s suffering, though they keep their practices hidden because they wish to minimize public awareness.
Of course, there will be exceptions to what I just described. There are always people who break the rules, whether because of arrogance, amorality, as a means of cutting costs and/or interest in profits at the expense of responsibility. Generally speaking, the meat industry is more humane than the fur industry.
Karl needs to do less interviews. He may be amusing to some, but he’s not relatable. That “rarefied air” he breathes has addled his brain. However, his cat can stay.
I do agree that wearing fur is all about vanity for some people. But it’s not accurate or rational to claim all fur wearers are motivated only by vanity. Some fur garments are traditional apparel that are not all about vanity. In certain areas or cultures, fur is the most affordable and effective way to stay warm. Not everyone has the means or access to purchase very warm non-fur garments. And wearing fur facing out is much warmer than facing toward the body which is also why on animals, their fur does not grow inward.
@MinnFinn:
I don’t disagree with you about the other reasons people wear fur. There are cultures that rely on fur for warmth because they don’t have the technology or they can’t afford the alternatives. I should have been more specific. I was referring to the vanity of the affluent – people in first world countries and designers like Lagerfeld, who cater to them. People in the first world DO have a choice. The fact they still wear fur illustrates their insensitivity and conceit.
Of course animal fur grows on the outside of the body. It would be an aberration of nature and mighty uncomfortable if fur (or our own hair) grew inward. But I have some past experience with furs owned by older relatives. It was out of curiosity that I tried them on. I would never own such cruelty. To me, a fur-lined coat is just as warm as a coat with fur facing outward. So yeah, it’s important for the materialistic snobs that we really SEE the fur they’re wearing.
– He doesn’t believe in stress: “I don’t believe in it. It’s a job, one should not become hysterical.” –
Thanks, Karl! Now I know how I shall reply to my boss when he asks for our weekly report…
I love Karl! He is really something:)
And I love how he makes his assistent to be the bad guy, and him a good guy:)
As to the double standards about meat/fur: I am not an activist, and I eat meat. I think the difference between eating meat and wearing fur is this: eating is essential, people eat meat, that´s it. Meat is food, but fur is vanity (nowadays, because centuries ago people had to have fur, to not freeze to death……. so really, survival ……. OK, I am contradicting myself maybe, I could eat tofu or just vegetables, but for me it´s not real food…. )
and I don´t understand something: Some people think, eating chicken or fish is a less bad thing, then eating red meat? (from the animal rights point, not from health point)
No No No.
There is a difference whether you kill an animal quickly in order to eat it. Or whether you kill an animal in order to use its fur for unnecessary luxury coats. There are many other alternatives for warm coats.
And additionally many animals who are killed for their fur aren’t killed quickly and with as few pain as possible. But instead they are deskinned alive.
Wearing cow leather isn’t the same as wearing sable. The cow is born and bred under controlled conditions and killed quickly. The sable isn’t hunted as Karl suggested but the salbe is kept outside in a wire netting cage in the cold because the colder the animal is the better and tighter the fur. And they aren’t killed quickly but most likely deskinned alive. And to do this for mere useless luxury is indeed a moral crime.
I would be more impressed if Karl said he used furs from animals born and bred and killed under somewhat decent conditions.
Can’t stand him but I agree his shade is epic. But Karl, sorry, meat eating and fur wearing are not the same. First of all, you can absolutely be fashionable and warm without touching fur, ever. But switching to a meat free diet for some of us is hard (I would have to relearn cooking) and not something we can switch on a whim. Also, while I am not aware of humane ways of getting fur (plus the rest of the animal is wasted) there are humane ways of eating meat that does not come from a steroid fed, antibiotic pumped cow or chicken held in torture cages in their own waste and electrocuted to death. I know, because I care what I eat, I spend quite a bit buying pasture raised free ranging meat and eat less of it. I don’t need a 16 oz prime rib to cost me $10, but I also understand that this is a choice I am both willing and financially able to make. Not everyone can… And some who can either don’t know or care. Obviously Karl doesn’t.
I wonder how Karl would feel it choupette was turned into an ugly hat?
Marvelous!
Just by the by… good leather is rarely a by product of the meat industry. The only skin that is actually a by product from the meat industry is probably Spanish rabbit fur.
Regardless of my own opinion on fur (not keen to be honest), I don’t really think anyone who wears leather and eats meat should be too judgemental. The use of exotic skins (python, alligator etc) should be higher on the watch list but unfortunately they’re not as cute as foxes or minks!