More than a mere tastemaker, Karl Lagerfeld devoted himself to the continual pursuit of chic. “My life and my job,” the designer once said, “is to forget myself.” During his five-decade career designing shoes, handbags, evening dresses and other items for Chanel, Fendi, Chloé and many others, Lagerfeld was a quintessential chameleon, ever evolving to embody the times.
An outsize, instantly recognizable personality — his ponytail powdered like an 18th-century viscount, his eyes perpetually shielded by dark glasses, wearing fistfuls of chunky silver jewels — Lagerfeld was, above all, an avatar of style.
Born in Hamburg (in 1933, ’35, or ’38 by varying accounts), Karl Lagerfeld packed his bags for Paris in 1954. His design for a coat won him the International Wool Secretariat and landed him a job with the celebrated couturier Pierre Balmain. He went on to become the designer of Jean Patou, eventually realizing that his seemingly endless ideas could fuel a career as a designer-for-hire. As such, Lagerfeld lent his vision to everyone from Loewe and Max Mara to Krizia and Charles Jourdan, nimbly moving among a diverse range of styles. It was an unprecedented way of working in the days when freelance was still a dirty word.
During the late ’60s and ’70s, he refashioned Chloé to reflect the free spirit of the day and, beginning in 1965, joined forces with the Fendi family, taking it from sleepy furrier to fashion’s haute-est stratum. Because of his track record for reviving and reimagining brands that had grown stagnant, in 1983 Lagerfeld was handed the reins at Chanel, which had been gathering dust since its founder’s heyday.
From Lagerfeld's first Chanel collection, he injected the venerable house with a frisson of modernity. He riffed on its iconography — tweed skirt suits, pearls, camellias — accenting a lexicon of Chanel-isms with tastes of the moment. Despite producing eight collections a year for Chanel, as well as four to five for Fendi, Lagerfeld never faltered in proposing new ideas each time he put pencil to paper.
Lagerfeld’s collections for Chanel, in particular, displayed his knack for synthesizing old and new, high and low. From Watteau (Spring/Summer 1985 couture) and Serge Roche (Spring/Summer 1990 ready-to-wear) to hip-hop fly girls (Fall/Winter 1991 ready-to-wear), surfers (Spring/Summer 2003 ready-to-wear) and ancient Egypt (Pre-Fall 2019), Lagerfeld used each season’s inspiration to conceive Chanel’s signatures anew.
Browse a collection of sophisticated designs by Karl Lagerfeld on 1stDibs, including handbags and evening gowns for Chanel, vintage cocktail dresses for Chloé and more.
Vintage Rare 1990s Chanel Baroque Pearl Necklace
By Thierry Mugler, Chanel, Christian Dior, Paloma Picasso, Karl Lagerfeld
Located in San Diego, CA
Incredibly chic necklace from the Autumn-Winter 1996 Chanel collection. This beautiful goldtone chain with six faux baroque pearls in white and grey is simply irresistible. This nec...
Metal
$3,040Sale Price|20% Off
H 35.5 in W 10.5 in D 7 in
Baroque Carved Oak Saint Figure, Russian, Circa 1700, 35.5 Inches High
Located in Stamford, CT
A very interesting Baroque period carved oak figure of a saint or prophet said to come from a demolished Russian Orthodox church. This compelling figure is ...
Oak
1990s Modern Sculpture
Located in Milano, IT
1990s modern sculpture, realized with different metals such as iron copper and brass.
Brass, Copper, Iron
Rare Hi-Lo Collapsible Modernist Bicycle by Cleveland Company MDT
Located in Buffalo, NY
Rare Hi-Lo Collapsible modernist streamline bicycle by Cleveland Company,, M D T,, Amazing design and condition, bike comes apart for easy compact transport and storage, Retains all ...
Steel, Chrome
$124,900
H 40 in W 15 in D 12 in
A Rare and Important American Marble Sculpture of Thomas Jefferson, Circa 1870
Located in Long Island City, NY, NY
A Rare and Important American White Marble Sculpture of Thomas Jefferson Holding The Declaration of Independence. Circa 1870, in the Manner of Horatio Stone (1808 –1875). Inscribed on scroll: 'The Declaration of Independence, It becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another. etc. etc. T. Jefferson. The present work is unsigned but is reminiscent of Horatio Stone's life-size marble figure of John Hancock...
Marble
$6,000
H 30.5 in W 19.5 in D 10 in
18th Century Italian Cross with Kyanite, Calcite Crystals, and Baroque Pearls
By Interi
Located in Columbia, SC
18th century Italian crucifix with gold-plated kyanite, calcite crystals in matrix, and baroque pearls. The crucifix is originally from a church in Liguria. It is hand-carved and pai...
Rock Crystal, Gold Plate, Gold Leaf
Baroque Period, Italian, Marble Tabernacle
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Fabulous, hand-carved and veneered, 1700's, solid marble tabernacle from an Italian church altar. The scrolling, side pillars are surmounted by a ...
Marble
$6,400 / set
H 33 in W 25 in D 12 in
Pair 18th Century Italian Baroque Carved Painted Wood Adoring Angel Sculptures
Located in Dallas, TX
Full of movement and devotional expression, this impressive pair of antique religious sculptures depicts two adoring angels kneeling upon billowing clouds populated with winged cheru...
Fruitwood, Paint
$49,000 / set
H 72 in W 35 in D 15 in
Exstremely Rare Collection Alcoa Aluminum String Instruments, Bass, Cello, Violin
By Alcoa Aluminum
Located in Buffalo, NY
This set took me over 20 years to procure.....Dont miss this opportunity!!!!Being offered extremely rare collection of aluminum string instruments,,string bass, ,cello,,and violin....... circa 1930s, all 3 instruments originaly wood grain painted, have been stripped and polished.. re-strung and set up, new bridge and custom (alcoa) tail piece, original ebony fret board, All play and Sound amazing. If purchasing to play, wonderful decorative sculpture, Pfretzschner aluminum bass In 1928, The Aluminum Company of America manufactured 50 aluminum double basses...
Aluminum, Brass
$5,500
H 28 in W 56 in D 45 in L 28 in
18th Century Italian Gilded Crown with Elestial Quartz and Baroque Pearls
By Interi
Located in Columbia, SC
18th century Italian gilded crown with hand-carved angels. The crown was originally part of a canopy of a devotional structure or altar in a historical Italian church. The intricate ...
Quartz, Rock Crystal, Gold Leaf
17th Century Spanish Baroque Chestnut Carving of Christ
Located in Stamford, CT
A large-scale 17th century Spanish carving of Christ on the cross. Possibly of a much earlier date, the features and posture owing much to Byzantine depictions of Christ, especially ...
Chestnut
Rare Limited Edition Designer Toy Killjoy by Michael Lau
Located in Weesp, NL
Limited edition Designer toy Killjoy 0271/1000 designed in 2000 by Michael Lau for Crazysmiles. This rare piece comes with its original box in great condit...
Plastic, Rubber
Rare Calcite Crystal Cluster with Natural-Forming Baroque Pearls
By Interi
Located in Columbia, SC
Rare calcite crystal cluster formation adorned with natural forming gold baroque pearls in its matrix. Calcite is the most abundant carbonate on Earth and commonly forms in caves, ...
Rock Crystal, Crystal