Per reporter: Chen Qixin Per editor: Wen Duo
On February 20, Chanel China's official website was a large black and white photo of Karl Lagerfeld.
Image source: Screenshot of the official website
On the evening of February 19, Beijing time, the news came that Chanel's artistic director "Lafayette" Karl Lagerfeld had passed away, and the legend of the fashion industry left at the age of 85, and his death meant the end of an era for the fashion industry.
Black suit, white shirt, a white hair tied with a ponytail, and wearing black sunglasses are karl Lagerfeld's signature image, such an old man has always occupied the commanding heights of the fashion circle, known as "the Julius Caesar of the fashion world".
Fluent in German, English, French and Italian, Karl Lagerfeld was fascinated by tradition and envisioned the future. The Daily Economic News noted that Anna Wintour, the editor of American Vogue, presented Lagerfeld with the Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2015 British Fashion Awards: "He represents the soul of fashion more than anyone I know: restless, forward-looking, and very concerned about changing culture." ”
Image source: Visual China
<h2>"I'm moving all the time so I don't become numb"</h2>
Born in 1933 in Hamburg, Germany, Karl Lagerfeld's father was a merchant who sold condensed milk, his mother was a lingerie salesman, his mother was very particular about clothing, and Lagerfeld also loved design and fashion from an early age. In 1954, Lagerfeld won the coat category at the Fashion Design Competition organized by the International Wool Bureau; later, in 1955, he was selected as an assistant by Pierre Balmain, a judge of the Fashion Design Award, to study under his brand and officially enter the fashion industry.
After working with Pierre Balmain for three years, Karl Lagerfeld became a designer at the fashion house Jean Patou. Unexpectedly, Lagerfeld's first collection ran into a wall, and the media commented on Lagerfeld's design at the time: "These fashions look like ready-made clothes, not couture." ”
But It turns out that Lagerfeld is still very insightful and foresight. His ready-to-wear collections were more popular with consumers than couture collections, and when the ready-to-wear industry took shape, he began his career as a freelance fashion designer in France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany.
In 1964, Lagerfeld became the designer of the Chloe brand, positioning the brand in the classical romantic aesthetic style, and in October 1972, Lagerfeld's Chloe Spring/Summer 1973 fashion collection was a great success and became the headline of the newspapers at the time.
In 1965, Lagerfeld was the designer of the Italian fashion house Fendi brand, and since then, Lagerfeld, who has signed a lifetime contract with Fendi, has worked for Fendi for 54 years, and Fendi's famous double F logo is also Karl's design. Lagerfeld's dramatic design concept has enabled Fendi to gain attention and praise from the global fashion industry, pushing Fendi to the front line of haute couture.
Lagerfeld's real fame in the fashion world began as a brand designer for Chanel. In 1983, in the case of widespread disapproval from the outside world, Lagerfeld recombined the classic elements of Chanel, injecting new vitality into the brand's image, successfully reviving the brand, and making Chanel one of the most profitable fashion brands in the world.
Lagerfeld perfectly distilled the elegant essence of Coco Chanel, improved the proportions, retained loyal customers, appropriately injected sports and rock elements, attracted a large number of young people, and carried forward the exquisite craftsmanship of haute couture, successfully leading the post-war Chanel to a modern and elegant road. At the same time, the button shop Desrues, the feather jewelry workshop Lemarié, the embroidery workshop Lesage, the shoe workshop Massaro, the hat maker Michel, the gold and silver jewelry goossens and the flower jewelry shop Guillet were all included.
In 1984, Lagerfeld, who had many years of experience in the industry, launched his own brand "Karl Lagerfeld", and he continued to adhere to his timely and changing design style, and incorporated this style into the same name brand he created.
In 2017, 80.1% of Karl Lagerfeld's Greater China company was acquired by the public company Seven Wolves, and Lagerfeld will still be responsible for the management and control of the brand's overall creativity.
Working as a creative and designer for several brands at the same time, Lagerfeld is at the helm of Chanel's 8 collections of clothing (including ready-to-wear and haute couture) each year, Fendi's 5 collections, and his own brand Karl Lagerfeld, Lagerfeld's work is very intense. In an interview with the media, Lagerfeld was asked whether working between multiple brands at the same time filled his life, but he said he did not take it seriously.
"All the designers who worked only for the same brand ended up finding themselves completely 'sterilized' and they started repeating their classics, spinning around in place, biting their tails. For my part, I had to switch from one brand to another and constantly reinvent myself, which also allowed me to see what was happening next door. I'm moving all the time so I don't become numb. Lagerfeld said so.
Chanel's attitude towards e-commerce has always been conservative, and only beauty products can be purchased online. Image source: Screenshot of the official website
<h2>Is Chanel ready to lose "Lafayette"</h2>?
Lagerfeld's absence from the Paris Chanel Spring/Summer 19 Couture fashion show in January raised concerns about his health. It was the first time Lagerfeld had not appeared in 36 years as Chanel's artistic director, and was closed by Virginie Viard, director of Chanel Creative Studios, who then explained that Karl Lagerfeld was absent due to long hours of work, physical overwork and hoped he would recover soon.
At present, the more pressing question for Chanel is how the loss of the soul of "Lafayette" will affect Chanel, and whether Chanel is ready for the "day without 'Lafayette'".
In June last year, Chanel publicly disclosed its financial report for the first time in its 100-year history. According to the data, driven by strong sales in Europe and Asia, Chanel's profit and revenue in 2017 both increased, with total sales of $9.62 billion, an increase of 11% year-on-year; net profit of $1.8 billion, an increase of 19% year-on-year; surpassing Gucci and Hermès in performance, but slightly less than Louis Vuitton.
In recent years, there has been an oligarchic competition with LVMH and Kering Group, followed by Gucci, Hermès and other catch-ups, especially in June last year, Gucci said that it will use sales of 10 billion euros to target LV's number one luxury goods throne, in an increasingly competitive environment, Chanel is facing certain pressure in the industry. Although Chanel is not yet listed, it has to re-examine its position.
Unlike other luxury brands, Chanel's attitude towards e-commerce has always been more conservative, and at present, except for beauty products that can be purchased online, the rest can still only be purchased offline. But Chanel is also actively investing in technology and digital services related to its stores.
In the past two years, Chanel's unchanged design has been criticized. Well-known commentator Ana Andjelic has previously posted an article accusing Chanel and "Lafayette" that "Chanel, which overemphasizes the layout of the runway, is misleading the future direction of luxury brands, making fashion more and more superficial and unable to withstand scrutiny". Fashion media also pointed out that the essence of Karl Lagerfeld's design has not changed much, and it is getting farther and farther away from the current young people.
Whoever takes over Karl Lagerfeld's place will now be faced with Chanel, which is drifting away from the young and a luxury goods industry that is fiercely competitive.
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