Karl Lagerfeld was one of the fashion world’s most famous and revered designers who revolutionised and reinvented the leading luxury brands in the business. An icon of pop culture, whose influence was felt far beyond the realm of luxury fashion, Karl Lagerfeld was one of the most recognisable figures of his generation, but always remained enigmatic.
This December, Sotheby’s is paying tribute to this genius designer, presenting an anthology of his unique taste and treasured mementos of his life and career by selling more than 1,000 lots from his residences in France and Monaco, the homes that he so carefully designed.
The first part of the Karl online auction has offered collectors a unique opportunity to acquire art objects and pieces owned by the late designer. On Monday, Dec 6, is your final chance to bid on the first part of the auction. Click here to see the lots.
Georges Lepape – La comédie
This auction features a superb collection of Georges Lepape drawings, and a diverse selection of design, clothing, luggage and pieces portraying Karl Lagerfeld from his residences in Monaco and Louveciennes, every one of which bears witness to his extraordinarily good taste.
The second part of KARL Paris online auction opens between 6 and 16 December. Click here to find the catalog.
«The story of this sale is of Karl Lagerfeld at home, of the private man behind the public persona. We see him as an absolute aesthete, applying the very same precision to the spaces he lived in as to the designs that saw him conquer the world of fashion. A glimpse inside his homes reveal a designer who knew how to perfectly balance the old and the new, the traditional with the radical, the serious with the surprising, and often with a twist of fun. And, a flick through the catalogue provides a tantalising hint at what it might have been like to sit around his dinner table, with the eclectic tableware, porcelains, glasses, linens and silver on display. It is items like these, and the most personal pieces offered throughout the sales, whether they be from his celebrated wardrobe, his dressing table, his linen cupboards or silver chests that help piece together the story behind the persona of one of the great designers of our times». – Pierre Mothes, Vice President of Sotheby’s France.
«He (Karl) was forthright, charismatic and decisive in every aspect of his life, but it is his sharp sense of humour that really shined behind closed doors as well as his encyclopaedic knowledge of art and culture that he generously shared at every opportunity.
Karl’s scope of work didn’t just evolve, he continually re-invented it, emerging season by season as a key player and shaper of the fashion zeitgeist; his vision was so extraordinary. I’ve often described him as the Warhol of fashion, because like Warhol his work spanned such a wide variety of media and he understood the relationship between photography, artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertising.» – Claudia Schiffer
Unsurprisingly, Karl Lagerfeld’s sharp eye for style extended into his private world, and the twenty residences he is believed to have designed throughout his life. The sale brings together tens of important pieces of decorative arts that reflect his passion for contemporary and industrial design that preoccupied him for the last 20 years, with glimpses of the 18th-century and Art Deco periods that captivated him for so long before that.
Martin Szekely
103 Black Console, 2006 | Console 103 black, 2006
Radical pieces of design – moulded in cool steel, aluminium, leather, glass and stone – by the likes of Marc Newson and Martin Szekely are juxtaposed with 18th-century luxuriance (gilt bronze and crystal chandeliers, a regal Louis XVI bed draped in a silver thread and yellow silk lampas, 18th-century sculpture), and many classic art deco pieces, something that Karl Lagerfeld first fell for in the 1970s, especially the work of Louis Süe and André Mare.
Objects from his desk
Lagerfeld’s passion for a sharp contemporary aesthetic peaked with his design of the futuristic apartment he spent two and a half years renovating on the Quai Voltaire next to the Seine. Here, in a 300-year-old building, he reinvented the traditional concept of an artist’s studio for the 21st century, with a monochromatic interior of glass, metal, concrete and silicone. This would become his primary residence in the city, where he lived with his celebrity cat Choupette. In his words: «This is not a house…It’s a spaceship!»
Karl Lagerfeld’s 8 rue des Saint-Pères apartment
The sale also opens the door to two of his residences that had never been seen before: a two-storied apartment on Rue des Saints-Pères (also in Paris) where he powerfully mixed minimal design with decorative arts, and, the last home he ever decorated – a 19th century villa in Louveciennes, near Versailles. The latter was contrived as a love letter to his German roots, adorned with posters of advertising, furniture and works of art dated from the beginning of the 20th century from his homeland.
Karl Lagerfeld
Set of four scrapbooks with fashion sketches, circa 2000 | Ensemble de quatre carnets de croquis de mode, vers 2000
It is Lagerfeld’s homes, and the personal touches throughout the sale that remind us of the man behind the image: sketches that show him as an artist at work with drawings not only for shoes and fashion designs, but of his partner of almost 20 years, Jacques de Bascher. They are joined by scrapbooks of photos and cuttings assembled by Lagerfeld himself, and artworks by one of his great inspirations, the early 20th century celebrated French illustrator and fashion designer, Georges Lepape. Embroidered cushions read «Ici, c’est la place du chat», reserving a seat for his famous cat Choupette, and monogrammed personal items adorn his desk and dressing table.
To the world however, Karl Lagerfeld was best known for cultivating an image so recognisable that it achieved cult status, and was reproduced again and again through paintings, drawings, sculptures, and even dolls in the shape of his famous silhouette, many of which are included in the collection.
Saint Laurent Paris, Velvet Tuxedo Jacket, 2016 | Saint Laurent Paris veste de smoking, 2016
Lagerfeld’s signature uniform was always a contemporary sleek black suit, dark sunglasses, and fingerless leather gloves, matched with an 19th-century-style oversized collar, tie pins, handheld fans, and a powdered white ponytail. And, the sales open the door to this most famous wardrobe, notably jackets from the luxury Parisian fashion houses – Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior to Maison Martin Margiela – as well as a globally diverse group of designers, notably from Japan, represented by Comme des Garçons. Many are in Lagerfeld’s signature colour: black, but others are in fabrics with snakeskin and leopard print designs, or with stripes, embroidery and studs. As for his diverse repertoire of fingerless gloves, the sale includes a kaleidoscope of colours and designs, in pink, red, silver, bronze, studs, stripes, chain mail.
CHANEL
Black Embossed Lambskin Tote Silver Hardware, circa 2010
Despite Lagerfeld’s designated role as the «channeler of Coco», Karl Lagerfeld rarely wore Chanel himself, once insisting that «In CHANEL, I look like my mother». Nonetheless a handful of Chanel items are represented in the sale. Most unique is the black shoulder bag that he took with him everywhere. The style was never released in CHANEL boutiques or even worn on the runway. Its exact design never materialised beyond the prototype style in Karl Lagerfeld’s personal collection, making it an item as mysterious as the owner himself.
You can visit the exhibition in Paris
11 December | 10:00 AM–3:00 PM
12 December | 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
13 December | 10:00 AM–8:00 PM
14 December | 10:00 AM–1:00 PM
Location:
76, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré 75008 Paris
Karl Lagerfeld’s villa in Louveciennes
Sotheby’s Cologne will present another auction dedicated to the estate of the Hamburg-born Karl Lagerfeld in spring of next year, comprising an exquisite selection of objects from his last residence in Louveciennes, spanning various epochs and styles, but with a special focus on early 20th German art. The sale will star pieces from 1920s Germany by the architect and furniture designer Bruno Paul, as well the pinnacle of German commercial art from the beginning of the 20th century – rare collectible posters – that Lagerfeld collected for thirty years, and are likely to be particularly sought after in the auction. Highlights can be viewed in the prestigious space of Palais Oppenheim in Cologne in advance of the auction.
The auction of Karl Lagerfeld’s Estate is an insight into the world of this discerning and insatiable collector. Revealing the story of the couturier, the collector, the designer and the photographer – the true legend that Lagerfeld was.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of Sotheby’s, Karl Lagerfeld and © Sandra Bauknecht
Thierry Stern with me
