Introduction
Karl Lagerfeld House was a well-known German fashion designer and photographer. He is known for being the creative power behind the Chanel label’s revival in the modern world. He was the creative director of Fendi-fur and leather fashion house and owned his personal luxury fashion label.
He had a charismatic and decisive personality, and rich knowledge of art and culture. His unique talent in the fashion world was to combine the glamor and richness of past decades with classic lines and timelessness.
Lagerfeld lived a life in which change was a constant. He moved to Paris from his native Hamburg in the 1950s. He owned around twenty luxurious homes around the world across Paris, Rome, Brittany, Monaco, Berlin, and Biarritz. Each of his houses reflected unique aspects of his eclectic style personality.
He respected the art of living well. As a fashion designer, he knew the power spaces and objects held in shaping his personality and lifestyle. He particularly loved the modernist homes of the 18th century.
He paid particular attention to the details that created the complete atmosphere or vibe. In this article, we take a look at five of these iconic residences.
1. Paris (Art Deco style)
Karl Lagerfeld’s apartment in Paris is a collection of his masterpieces from the 1920s. The apartment is designed as a background to show off Lagerfeld’s collection of art-deco objects, paintings, and Meissen plates. The house represents luxury and sophistication. The interiors consist of furniture draped in heavy satin and gold furnishings. A shell sofa, armchairs, a rich maroon carpet across the floor, and a pouf create lavish seating space in the bedroom.
The bedroom continues the same language with heavy rust-red satin drape drapes and a mattress that rests on a stainless-steel bed. A bronze standing lamp complements the pristine character of the bed.
The images from Lagerfeld’s home in Paris show a styled bed from the 18th century, handmade brocade, and bird of paradise feathers. The stucco statue of Madame du Barry by Augustin Pajou adds yet another element of theatrics to the room.
2. Monte Carlo (Memphis style)
Karl Lagerfeld’s apartment in Monte Carlo is exciting, playful, and full of surprises at every turn. An element of gaudiness mixed with a choice to experiment is evident in the apartment. These playful furnishings and bold pop colors are inspired by the Memphis school of design, created by Ettore Sottsas in Milan. In the living room sits a giant playpen, which was once a boxing ring designed by Masanori Umeda of Tokyo.
His bedroom hosts a combination of unique furniture. From a bedsheet with comic book characters to a study table with a funky striped lamp that points sharply towards one corner of the room, each element is a character in this den of stories. The glass-doored wardrobe is designed by Michele De Lucchi and the bedsheet by Nathalie du Pasquier.
3. Paris (Futuristic style)
Karl Lagerfeld’s apartment on the Quai Voltaire in Paris has a highly futuristic style. It follows a contemporary approach to design. The interiors were avant-garde at the time, reinventing a Parisian artist’s studio. All spaces and furniture created in the house have futuristic and minimal forms and finishes. They use highly reflective materials and surfaces such as frosted glass, stainless steel, and aluminum.
As seen in the images, the matt-finished black furniture forms a perfect harmony with reflective grays used in the flooring and ceiling finishes. It looks like the set of a science-fiction movie set in the future. It feels modern, exclusive, and pristine. Stark-white floor lights create a desire to walk through the passages, as a play of light and shadow creates intriguing patterns on the walls.
4. Rome (Modernist)
Lagerfeld’s Roman home was a retreat he had designed for himself in the 1990s. It used a predominantly black and white color scheme. This was an extension of his personal wardrobe style and his favorite color scheme for the Chanel collection.
Lagerfeld’s friend, Andrée Putman, conceptualized most of the design elements for this house. Putman experimented with the use of Fortuny fabric and furniture pieces designed by Wiener Werksatte.
The first image shows a bathroom connected through a spiral staircase to a bedroom above. The entire space is wood-paneled. The second image shows the utilization of the space under the stairs leading to the main bedroom. An 18th-century Swedish child- bed has been re-imagined as a sofa. It is upholstered in cotton fabric with a tulip design.
5. Le Mee
Lagerfeld’s home in Le Mee near Paris is probably the coziest of his homes. It follows a theme of chocolate-brown and white and is inspired by historic French fashion illustrations, paintings, and decorative arts, as well as bourgeois elements of German Architecture.
A unique element of this house is the interplay of the interior and exterior spaces. The house is surrounded by a 100-acre park which also consists of a swimming pool designed by Karl Lagerfeld.
The image shows a medley of eclectic prints. The striped sofa and chairs by Paul Poiret and the shell chair by Paul Poiret reflect a contrast and harmony. The table designed by Poillerat and the shadow box add other quirky elements to the overall design.
Conclusion
Karl Lagerfeld’s professional life was about design, visualization, and innovation. His work reflected his love for luxury, symbolism, and a deep interest in varied art forms. Each of his houses is unique and yet a perfect continuation of his personality.
References
Nast, C., 2019. Inside Karl Lagerfeld’s Many Luxurious Homes. [online] Vogue. Available at: <https://www.vogue.com/article/karl-lagerfeld-interiors-from-the-archives> [Accessed 31 August 2022].
Morrisett, C., 2018. L’appartement de Karl Lagerfeld à Paris. [online] AD Magazine. Available at: <https://www.admagazine.fr/decoration/visite-deco/diaporama/lappartement-de-karl-lagerfeld-a-paris/48848> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
Interiorarchive.photoshelter.com. n.d. Fritz von der Schulenburg | The Interior Archive. [online] Available at: <https://interiorarchive.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Karl-Lagerfeld-Rome/G00005Nd8aUXJiE0/I0000tlYPfXHY.KQ/C0000T9XdZNPAf5E#.YxL1WXZBy3A> [Accessed 1 September 2022].
