Karl Lagerfeld South Dakota

Lagerfeld widely recognized as one of the most influential fashion designers of the late 20th century.. "Only the minute and the future are interesting in fashion – it exists to be destroyed. If everybody did everything with respect, you'd go nowhere.."

Born Karl Otto Lagerfeld recorded to be born on September 10, 1933 as the only child of Christian and Elizabeth Lagerfeld in Hamburg, Germany. A Catholic baptismal record indicates his birth date as 10 September 1933 but Lagerfeld states he was born in 1938. German birth records are not open to public inspection. The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag has quoted his former teacher and classmates as confirming the earlier date. His father was a member of a Swedish merchant-banking family and made his fortune introducing condensed milk to Germany. His mother, Elizabeth, was German.

Karl taught himself to read and has since become a voracious reader devouring historical biographies, as his mother told the youngster that if he wanted bedtime stories he would have to read them himself. It is said that his mother's famous eccentricity, perhaps also influenced his exceptional talent. Together, Karl Lagerfeld and his mother immigrated to Paris in 1953. In 1955, at the age of 22, after winning a competition for a coat sponsored by the International Wool Secretariat, Lagerfeld was awarded a position at Pierre Balmain where his first piece appeared in their collection when he was 17-years-old. Yves Saint Laurent also won the contest for a dress award. "Yves was working for Dior. Other young people I knew were working for Balenciaga, whom they thought was God, but I wasn't so impressed," he recalled. Lagerfeld stayed at Balmain he until Chloé beckoned in 1963, inviting him to design a pioneering range of luxury ready-to-wear.

After three years, he moved to Jean Patou. "I became bored there, too, and I quit and tried to go back to school, but that didn't work, so I spent two years mostly on beaches – I guess I studied life." With money from his wealthy family, he set up a small shop in Paris. At this time, he would often consult with Madame Zereakian, Christian Dior's Turkish fortune teller. Lagerfeld later said, "She told me I'd succeed in fashion and perfume."

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