KARL LAGERFELD: A Life in Fashion

Alfons Kaiser

Abrams, New York, USA

Year 2022

Pages 367

This is the definitive biography of Karl Lagerfeld – the last iconic fashion designer. Karl Lagerfeld stylized himself into a living logo and a myth of the fashion world. In this book the author introduces readers to the public and private life of the charismatic fashion designer. He explores the many eras of Lagerfeld’s life: the youthful outsider in the north German flatlands; the urbane genius in Paris; the tireless draftsman; the enthusiastic photographer; the passionate book collector; and the disciplined Prussian workaholic. What is behind this larger-than-life figure who, despite a massively public persona, kept his own life story a secret? Drawing from many previously untapped sources, this biography investigates the man behind the persona: the precocious boy who preferred to draw in the attic rather than play with his peers; the son who quarreled with his parents but never got away from them; Yves Saint Laurent’s competitor, whom he outshone in the end; the brother, uncle, and friend – and finally, the partner of Jacques de Bascher, the great love of his life.