Karl Lagerfeld Quotes

Powerful Karl Lagerfeld for Daily Growth

About Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019) was a German fashion designer, artist, and photographer renowned for his exceptional talent in the realm of fashion. Born on September 10, 1933, in Hamburg, Germany, to a working-class family, Lagerfeld's early life was marked by a deep appreciation for art and design. His mother, a seamstress, and father, a police officer, instilled a love for creation and discipline that laid the foundation for his future success. Lagerfeld moved to Paris in 1954 to study at the École des Beaux-Arts but left before graduating due to financial constraints. He began his career as an apprentice to Pierre Balmain, where he honed his skills and developed a keen eye for fashion. His big break came when he was hired by Jean Patou in 1958, designing collections for the iconic French label. In 1963, Lagerfeld took over as creative director at Chloé, a position he held for nearly three decades. Simultaneously, he started a fruitful collaboration with Fendi in 1967, where he transformed the Italian fur and leather goods company into an internationally recognized luxury brand. In 1983, Lagerfeld was appointed creative director at Chanel, a role that brought him worldwide fame and solidified his status as one of the most influential figures in fashion. Known for his innovative designs, such as the iconic "Chanel jacket" and the "Coco Crush" pendant, Lagerfeld's work at Chanel was marked by a modern yet timeless aesthetic that resonated with audiences globally. Throughout his illustrious career, Lagerfeld also ventured into photography and art, producing numerous cover shots for magazines like Vogue and TASCHEN books that showcased his distinctive vision. His quotes reflect his philosophical perspective on life, art, and fashion: "Sometimes you don't want to succeed; you don't want your work to be too good because you prefer to have fun," and "I think I am a kind of a perfectionist, which is not always very pleasant, but if there is no struggle, there is no glory." Karl Lagerfeld's lasting impact on the fashion world can be seen in his timeless designs that continue to inspire generations of designers today. His legacy transcends trends and serves as an enduring testament to the power of artistic vision and unwavering dedication.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Don't dress to kill, dress to live! After all, we don't have a lot of time to spare."

This quote by Karl Lagerfeld emphasizes the importance of clothing as an expression of one's personality and life rather than as a tool for attracting or intimidating others. The implication is that our time on Earth is limited, so we should invest in fashion choices that reflect who we are and how we want to live, rather than focusing on fleeting trends or societal expectations. In essence, he encourages us to prioritize authenticity and self-expression over superficial concerns when it comes to our style.

"The good thing about fashion is that it always changes. And with change, there is always hope."

The quote underscores a fundamental aspect of fashion, which is its ability to adapt and evolve over time. It also suggests a connection between fashion's continuous transformation and the concept of hope, implying that with each new trend or style comes an opportunity for renewal and improvement in society and self-expression. In essence, Lagerfeld emphasizes the inspiring potential embedded within the dynamic nature of fashion.

"I think I am a kind of perfectionist in everything I do. But perfume is really difficult because it's the most intimate thing a person can wear - next to their skin."

In this quote, Karl Lagerfeld expresses his dedication to perfectionism in all aspects of his work, but particularly when creating fragrances, as they are applied directly on one's skin – making them an incredibly intimate personal choice. This intimacy adds a layer of significance and complexity to the creation process, emphasizing the importance of getting each detail just right. Essentially, he suggests that crafting a perfume requires extra care and precision due to its close contact with the wearer's identity and essence.

"Today, anything that is good, I buy two! One for now and one for the future."

This quote by Karl Lagerfeld emphasizes a mindset of abundance, frugality, and long-term thinking. By purchasing two items of quality, he suggests securing immediate satisfaction (the "now") while also ensuring availability for later ("the future"). This approach can be applied to various aspects of life, encouraging both enjoyment of the present moment and prudent planning for the future.

"Fashion shows are like films. You should not explain too much. It should be a dream on the catwalk."

This quote by Karl Lagerfeld suggests that fashion shows, like movies, are meant to evoke a dream-like, imaginative experience rather than providing explicit explanations or narratives. In both mediums, there is an expectation of immersion and escapism from reality, where the audience can appreciate the artistry, aesthetics, and storytelling without needing to understand every detail. This quote emphasizes the importance of creating a cohesive and enchanting vision that resonates with viewers on an emotional level, fostering inspiration and admiration for fashion and its ability to transport us to extraordinary worlds.

When I was a child I asked my mother what homosexuality was about and she said - and this was 100 years ago in Germany and she was very open-minded - 'It's like hair color. It's nothing. Some people are blond and some people have dark hair. It's not a subject.' This was a very healthy attitude.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Some, Homosexuality, Very, Asked

What I hate is nasty, ugly people.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Hate, People, Ugly, Nasty

I don't take showers at night, because I take a bath when I wake up. Then I go to bed on the most beautiful Egyptian-cotton antique sheets in the world.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Night, Go, Bed, Showers

Fortunately there is more wealth in the world than there was at the time of the global economic crisis of 1929 - Chinese, Indian, Arab and Russian.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Wealth, Crisis, Russian, Fortunately

There will be gay couples; it will exist. It is not very nice that people who are married - who divorce in three seconds - don't want protection for the others. The legal system should protect everyone, not just the few people who think they are above everybody else because they are married.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Everybody, Very, Legal System

Beauty is also submitted to the taste of time, so a beautiful woman from the Belle Epoch is not exactly the perfect beauty of today, so beauty is something that changes with time.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Beauty, Woman, Perfect, Submitted

I'm a total puritan, but I found Jacques' adventures amusing. We couldn't be further apart. I am a Calvinist toward myself and totally indulgent toward others.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Myself, Am, Total, Indulgent

I'm all self-taught. I never had a teacher. Even for English, and French, and German, I hardly went to school.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Never, Had, German, Self-Taught

I believe in sketching because there is something very sensitive in sketching, you know, in sketches that you don't have out of a computer that looks the same like everybody even if, later on, the dresses are OK, but I like to sketch, and I like to see trails made after my sketches that look the same. It is you know, what I like.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Believe, Everybody, Very, Sketches

I spent my childhood in the country and started reading even before going to school. There was nothing else in my life but sketching and reading.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Childhood, My Life, Country, Started Reading

Black-and-white always looks modern, whatever that word means.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Looks, Always, Means, Black-And-White

I can hardly eat meat because it has to look like something what it was not when it was alive.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Meat, Alive, Like, Hardly

I hardly went to school.

- Karl Lagerfeld

School, Hardly

100 percent a huge fan of Beyonce. If I see her, I will faint. I've met her before. I just get really nervous and quiet - I just shut up and bow down.

- Karl Lagerfeld

I See, Shut, Before, Faint

Don't dress to kill, dress to survive.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Dress, Survive, To Survive

I would like to be a one-man multinational fashion phenomenon.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Like, Would, Phenomenon, Multinational

Doing collections, doing fashion is like a non-stop dialogue.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Doing, Dialogue, Like, Collections

No. I mean those people really did something for designers I don't think department stores can, could or should do still today. Today the world is different so you have to make it differently. There's TV. There's a lot of things.

- Karl Lagerfeld

World, TV, Lot, Department Stores

I don't eat bubble gum, but I like the smell.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Bubble, Eat, Like, Gum

I never smoked. I never drank and I never took drugs. The funny thing is, nothing is more boring, people like this. For me, it's OK. But most of my friends, at least they smoke and drink.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Funny, Me, Least, OK

Mostly I stay at home from the morning until 5 P.M., and I only go out for fittings and shoots because I work at home. I like to be alone.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Work, Like, Mostly, Shoots

No one wants to see curvy women.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Women, See, Wants, Curvy

The iPod completely changed the way people approach music.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Music, People, iPod, Changed

Everything has changed, and nothing has changed more than the world of fashion.

- Karl Lagerfeld

World, Nothing, More, Changed

If you're in this business and you are scared, then you better do something else.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Business, Better, Else, Scared

I never go anywhere. I do sketches and make phone calls, and people visit. It's more fun to come to Paris.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Go, More, Phone Calls, Sketches

Greece needs to work on a cleaner image. It's a big problem, as they have this reputation of being so corrupt.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Big, Needs, Image, Greece

My favorite kitchen was the Japanese and the Italian kitchen.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Favorite, Japanese, Italian, Kitchen

There was a moment when designers draped in ermine would be reading Proust, or pretending to.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Pretending, Designers, Would, Proust

I like the language in Proust but not the context.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Language, Context, Like, Proust

Yes, and I can sit down on a white piece of paper and work because I don't believe too much into inspiration, only I'm waiting for inspiration, work and then inspiration may come. It's a little too easy to say that.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Waiting, Believe, Down, Sit

I have no human feelings.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Human, Feelings

Work is making a living out of being bored.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Work, Living, Making, Bored

I like to do things quickly because I'm easily bored.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Like, Things, Quickly, Bored

I can tell you all kinds of moral tales, but fashion and reality are vaguely different.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Tell, I Can, Kinds, Tales

I never had to learn English, French and German because I was brought up as all three languages. I had a private French teacher before I even went to school. That helped a lot.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Teacher, Private, German, French

No, I'm not a French designer either. I'm from nowhere. I'm a European, old European is all I am.

- Karl Lagerfeld

I Am, Nowhere, Either, French

Who buys French cars? Not me.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Me, Who, Buys, French

There are so many people in the world who cannot read English or French or whatever.

- Karl Lagerfeld

World, Read, So Many People, French

I think tattoos are horrible. It's like living in a Pucci dress full-time.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Dress, Think, Full-Time, Tattoos

No, and I never, ever eat in between the meals. I control it well enough and with no pills, and I sleep seven hours a night. I go to bed. I fall asleep, and I wake up seven hours later, and this is the most important.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Wake Up, Bed, Pills, Well Enough

I worked out a lot before I was 20. I was hard underneath. I had just a little padding. I was quilted. Always Chanel.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Always, Before, Had, Underneath

I sleep seven hours. If I go to bed at two, I wake up at nine. If I go to bed at midnight, I wake up at seven. I don't wake up before - the house can fall apart, but I sleep for seven hours.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Bed, Hours, Nine, Apart

I have my permanent muses and my muses of the moment.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Moment, Permanent, Muses

I had nearly finished school because I was making effort not that bad on that. But there was a law in Germany after the war. You could not make your final examination before 18, so lots of people who were late because of the way had to do it first.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Bad, Before, Nearly, Examination

Bling is over. Red carpet covered with rhinestones is out. I call it 'the new modesty.'

- Karl Lagerfeld

Red, Over, Call, Red Carpet

I do my job like I breathe.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Job, Like, Breathe

Everyone wants to know and hopes I retire so they can get the jobs. But my contracts with Fendi and Chanel are lifelong.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Everyone, Jobs, Lifelong, Retire

Yes, some people say to me you're too skinny, but never a skinny person says that to me, only people who could lose a few pounds say that.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Some, Yes, Could, Pounds

What I like about music is the songs you can remember the lines of in a single second.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Music, Remember, Single, Lines

In my day, there were no vet video games.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Games, Video Games, Were, Vet

I like today and perhaps a little future still, but the past is really something I'm not interested in. So, as far as I'm concerned, I like only the past of things and people I don't know. When I know, I don't care because I knew how it was.

- Karl Lagerfeld

How, Concerned, Perhaps, As Far As

In France there are, I think, less than one per cent of people who are too skinny.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Think, I Think, Cent, Per

There are less than 1 per cent of anorexic girls, but there more than 30 per cent of girls in France - I don't know about England - that are much, much overweight. And it is much more dangerous and very bad for the health.

- Karl Lagerfeld

England, Very, Anorexic, Per

I wanted to become a cartoon artist, a portrait artist, and an illustrator. This was my first idea.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Artist, Cartoon, Wanted, Portrait

I'm lucky to work in the most perfect of conditions.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Lucky, Perfect, Most, Conditions

I don't look at my old work. I mean, they made nice books; the books were made without me, the one from last year and the one from this year. I - personally, I'm not interested in my own past. I'm only interested in today - perhaps tomorrow.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Own, Year, Last Year, Not Interested

My childhood was endless - from eight to 18 felt like hundreds of years.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Childhood, Like, Felt, Hundreds

I'm a working-class person, working with class.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Person, Working-Class, Class

My job is to bring out in people what they wouldn't dare do themselves.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Job, Bring, Themselves, Dare

I'm born with a pencil in my hand. I did lots of sketching.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Born, Sketching, Lots, Hand

I'm always relaxed.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Always, Relaxed

I've done many ads because that's my new career. It's an inspiring extension for my mind.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Mind, Career, New, Ads

I hated to be treated as a child. I thought it was the worst situation.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Thought, Worst, Treated, Hated

Everything I say is a joke. I am a joke myself.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Myself, I Am, Say, Joke

The first thing I do when I get up, I have breakfast.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Breakfast, Get, Up, The First Thing

I am never satisfied with myself and that is what keeps me going - I have no post-satisfaction.

- Karl Lagerfeld

I Am, Never, Going, Keeps

I am not a second option person. It is that or nothing. If it is not the way I see it I prefer not to see it.

- Karl Lagerfeld

I Am, See, Prefer, Option

I'm like a rock singer with one-night stands on the road.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Rock, Singer, Stands, One-Night

Bears are very nice, as long as you are nice to them.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Nice, Very, Them, Bears

I could speak three languages when I was six, and when I went to school, I only liked to read and sketch. At five, I could write and everything.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Six, Read, Languages, Five

A collection is not just one basic idea. It comes from something that is in the air, something you suddenly like and put down on paper and then work out.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Work, Like, Idea, Basic

You have to like the present; if not your life becomes secondhand, if you think it was better before. Or that it will be better in the future.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Think, Like, Before, Present

I am like a TV antenna. I catch everything that is in the air, and then I do it my way.

- Karl Lagerfeld

I Am, TV, Antenna, Catch

But if I have a lot of imagination, I could tell myself whatever I wanted, you know. I handle myself quite well. I'm kind of fascist with myself, you know. There's no discussion. There is an order. You follow it.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Kind, Tell, Could, Fascist

I'm kind of fascist with myself, you know.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Myself, Kind, Know, Fascist

I eat fish, three times a week meat, and if not yogurt, something like this and it rarely continues.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Week, Like, Yogurt, Meat

Some people would like me to be round again.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Some, Round, Would, Some People

Is there a way to design a room in my house where I float around? I would quite enjoy that. It's nuts.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Enjoy, House, Around, Float

I'm not an employee who goes to the office every morning at the same time. Then, vacations are needed.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Goes, Needed, Same Time, Vacations

Buy clothes the size you want to wear.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Want, Size, Buy, Clothes

I like the discipline of well-cut, impeccable clothes. I think it's a very healthy discipline.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Think, I Think, Very, Clothes

Clothes if they are not well cut, you can kill nobody. A building poorly built can kill people. It's a much more difficult work. I would not compare myself with that.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Compare, Cut, Poorly, Clothes

In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and clothes and even handbags, the discussion of fur is childish.

- Karl Lagerfeld

World, Handbags, Fur, Clothes

It's only I have seen enough of it and the funny thing is now, I know that I'm skinny, because I know there are even smaller clothes in the store. I think I'm big, when I was big, I never thought about it.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Big, I Think, Smaller, Clothes

Pfft, I hate Christmas Day. It's for children and families. Not for people like me.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Children, Me, Like, Families

It would have been difficult to have an ugly daughter.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Difficult, Been, Would, Daughter

I don't know what 'normal' means, anyway.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Know, Normal, Means, Anyway

I think for my bones and my size, I better stay with my 60 kilo.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Think, Better, I Think, Size

Paris by night is a nightmare now. It is not a cliche anymore.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Night, Paris, Cliche, Nightmare

The brain is a muscle, and I'm a kind of body-builder.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Brain, Kind, Muscle

I don't care if people I admire criticize me because their opinion is valuable to me.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Me, Admire, Criticize, Valuable

Music is part of the life of fashion, too.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Music, Part, Too, Fashion

T-shirts for ten dollars are even more fashion today than expensive fashion.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Today, More, Even, Fashion

I always loved advertising. If I hadn't been in fashion, I'd have been in advertising.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Loved, Always, Been, Fashion

The story with anorexic girls - nobody works with anorexic girls. That has nothing to do with fashion.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Nothing, Anorexic, Works, Fashion

The importance of logo into today's fashion is un! be! Lievable!

- Karl Lagerfeld

Today, Importance, UN, Fashion

Oh yes, I love to do shoes. I'm not a fetishist but I love to do shoes.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Love, Yes, I Love, Oh

My opinion can be completely different after a show.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Different, Show, After, Opinion

For me, New York is comfortable, not strange.

- Karl Lagerfeld

New York, New, Comfortable, York

I have more friends in New York than Paris.

- Karl Lagerfeld

New York, Paris, New, York

I'm not very gifted for hairdos. I don't like gel and all those products.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Like, Very, Those, Gifted

I drink Diet Coke from the minute I get up to the minute I go to bed.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Diet, Bed, Get, Minute

I have moved to a smaller house in Paris, and I don't fancy having so much staff now.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Paris, Fancy, Smaller, Staff

I never played with anything like toys.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Never, Toys, Like, Played

My hair is not really white; it's kind of grayish, and I don't like the color. So I make it totally white with Klorane dry shampoo. That is the best thing to do because my hair is always clean.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Color, Always, Like, Shampoo

I think it's horrible that people have to be told. Don't smoke! Everybody knows it's bad for the health. But they have to forbid it.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Think, Everybody, I Think, Forbid

Nothing scares me more than people with some doll collection.

- Karl Lagerfeld

More, Some, Doll, Scares

I don't do meetings.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Meetings

I have now exactly the same weight I had when I was 18, 20.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Now, Same, Weight, Exactly The Same

You cannot be creative with people around you.

- Karl Lagerfeld

People, Cannot, Around, Creative

Why should I stop working? If I do, I'll die and it'll all be finished.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Die, Stop, Should, Finished

People like me were supposed to be into exclusivity, unapproachable. That's what I hate most. I think it's very demode.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Think, I Think, Very, Exclusivity

Foreigners don't want to invest any more in France - and this is not working.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Want, More, Foreigners, France

I've only wanted paper and beautiful colors. It was my dream, and it still is my dream. And books. They're all I need, and the rest I can do without.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Rest, Need, Still, Paper

I don't want to be on the Internet.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Want, Internet

Personally, I don't wear fur.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Wear, Personally, Fur

I don't speak Spanish, I speak a little of Italian but no Spanish.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Speak, Little, Spanish, Italian

I admire people who destroy themselves.

- Karl Lagerfeld

People, Admire, Themselves, Destroy

I love dogs, but dogs, you have to be in the country with dogs. I cannot walk a dog on the street.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Love, Country, I Love, Dogs

Vanity is the healthiest thing in life.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Life, Thing, Vanity

I prefer to be in a video than to play with it.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Play, Than, Prefer, Video

I make such big efforts to forget things and I can't tell the story of my life because, thank God, I'm still living it.

- Karl Lagerfeld

My Life, Big, Still, Thank God

I'm an iPod person.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Person, iPod

I don't have any stress. I'm very lucky. I live a very healthy life.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Stress, Lucky, Very, Healthy

I don't want to look sloppy, because then I feel sloppy.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Want, Feel, Because, Sloppy

What I love best in life is new starts.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Love, New, I Love, Starts

I wanted to become an illustrator as a child.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Child, Become, Wanted, Illustrator

I never drink anything hot; I don't like hot drinks, very strange.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Never, Like, Very, Strange

I can no longer walk in the street. That's over.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Walk, Over, Longer, Street

There's something boring about people who have to go to an office for a living.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Living, Boring, About, Office

If there's something dangerous, sauces are dangerous for the body.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Body, Something, Dangerous

People can drink with their eyes; I can eat with my nose.

- Karl Lagerfeld

People, Nose, Eat, Drink

The way I talk is bizarre.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Talk, Way, Bizarre

I'm German in my mind, but from a Germany that doesn't exist any more.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Mind, Exist, German, Germany

I'm not a marketing person. I don't ask myself questions. I go by instinct.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Myself, Marketing, Person, Instinct

Stupidly it should not be. It should be also nice. One must get along with that. Is however not necessary.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Necessary, Get, However, Along

I'm totally myself.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Myself, Totally

I was always told as a child by my mother that you always have to be impeccable, even when you go to bed.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Mother, Bed, Always, Impeccable

I never - you know also one of the things that would save me for a man my age, it was not that easy to lose that much weight and fall down and look like something draped.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Like, One Of The Things, Save

Start your diet during a period of optimism and happiness.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Happiness, Optimism, Start, Period

I hate the past - especially my own past.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Hate, Past, Own, My Own

I never look at my watch when I'm sketching!

- Karl Lagerfeld

Look, Never, Watch, Sketching

No, I never thought I would like cats.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Thought, Never, Would, Cats

One day it will be over, and I don't care.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Day, Will, Over, One Day

If I were a woman, I would love to have lots of kids. But for men, I don't believe in it.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Love, Woman, Would, Lots

I never fall in love.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Love, Never, Fall

What I enjoy most is doing something I've never done before.

- Karl Lagerfeld

Doing, Never, Most, Enjoy

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