5 individuals who were once Karl Lagerfeld's muses
Antje Binder kbm
November 18, 2016
The German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has impeccable taste. Over the years, he has found inspiration in these five individuals - some more surprising than others.
Image: picture-alliance/Eventpress Kugler
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5 individuals who were once Karl Lagerfeld's muses
The German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has impeccable taste. Over the years, he has found inspiration in these five individuals - some more surprising than others.
Image: imago/Future Image
Choupette
She's perhaps Lagerfeld's only true muse, as she accompanies him day and night. His love for her is so strong that he even confessed he would marry her if he could. It was obvious that Choupette wouldn't remain behind closed doors for long. Ad deals with a Japanese cosmetic label and carmaker Opel earned her millions. And Choupette boasts tens of thousands of followers on Twitter and Instagram.
Image: imago/Future Image
Vanessa Paradis
The model known for the gap between her teeth became the face of Chanel in the early 1990s. Karl Lagerfeld famously decorated her with black feathers and put her in a gold cage for an ad for the Chanel perfume "Coco." Paradis worked regularly with Lagerfeld at the Chanel label, appearing both in advertisements and on the runway.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/Genin-Hahn-Marechal
Claudia Schiffer
At the age of 18, Claudia Schiffer moved from the countryside to Paris and stole the show. Karl Lagerfeld was also fascinated by the beauty of the young blond. Though she didn't have much experience, she became a model for one of the world's most famous labels in 1988 and walked down runways all over the world. Despite rumors of a fight between Lagerfeld and Schiffer, the two remain close today.
Image: AP
Keira Knightley
Lagerfeld was so enchanted by British actress Keira Knightley that he gave her the lead role in his short film "Once Upon a Time," in which she plays label founder Coco Chanel herself. Knightley also lent her face to Chanel perfume ads. The bond between the actress and the designer seems to be mutual, as Knightley has said she particularly admires his linguistic talents.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Rain
Baptiste Giabiconi
Male models are boring, Karl Lagerfeld once said. That is, until he met French model Baptiste Giabiconi in 2009. He was perfect like a Greek statue, the designer praised the then-19-year-old, who had been working in a factory in Marseille. Overnight, the young man became one of the best paid models in the world, thanks to the fashion lord.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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Actually, she belongs to the male model Baptiste Giabiconi, another muse of Karl Lagerfeld's. But the star designer once watched after his cat when Giabiconi was away - and fell in love. Since then, Lagerfeld and Choupette have been inseparable.
Animal love
In four years, she has gone from being Lagerfeld's lap cat to becoming a top brand. Choupette has posed with Giselle Bündchen for the cover of "Vogue." She has nearly 50,000 Twitter followers and almost 90,000 on Instagram.
Choupette also enjoys the company of two nannies and a bodyguard and has cosmetic and handbag lines to look after. She also appears in her own photo book, entitled, "Choupette: The Private Life of a High-Flying Fashion Cat," in which she describes her private life - complete with Chanel bags, fancy dinners and a private jet.
Mrs. Lagerfeld
"Choupette is the center of the world, and an inspiration for elegance and inner composure," Lagerfeld once told the "Süddeutsche Zeitung." He compared her tail to boa feathers and her eyes to sapphires. If he could, he would marry Choupette, Lagerfeld said in 2013 and everyone asked, has the designer totally lost his marbles?
But then it became clear - the public show of passion was simply yet another marketing ploy. He did was he's done with all his other muses - he maneuvered them into the spotlight, along with himself and his work.
Click through the gallery above for a look at some of Lagerfeld's other - more human - muses.
