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Renaissance man - Karl Lagerfeld

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September 9, 2018

Karl Lagerfeld - the man behind the brand or the brand behind the man? Almost everyone knows who he is and where his talents lie but does anyone really know the man behind the sunglasses? A rare insight into the life of a fashion icon.

Designer, artist, fashion czar, also known as "Kaiser Karl." No living fashion designer, let alone a German one, is as celebrated as Karl Lagerfeld. From dawn to late morning, Lagerfeld designs for Chanel, Fendi and his own signature brand - a combined workload of up to 15 collections a year. A workhorse who never takes breaks or even a vacation, he is also a photographer and filmmaker. His passion for fashion was awakened by a Dior show in Hamburg in 1950. Four years later, at the age of 17, he was hired as an assistant to Pierre Balmain. Lagerfeld recounts his beginnings in the industry, as well as his upper class background and childhood in Schleswig-Holstein. He was greatly influenced by his mother, whom he describes as his personal style icon. Lagerfeld's caustic comments are notorious and dreaded by those at the receiving end. As an artist, he works in several media, from pictures and photographs to book illustrations and videos. The report follows him to exhibition openings, during the hectic preparations for his fashion shows, and at photo shoots in Paris as it seeks to uncover the man behind the mask.

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