The late Karl Lagerfeld, the visionary German couturier and creative force behind Chanel’s resurgence, was a man of multifaceted talents and passions. Beyond his indelible mark on the fashion world, Lagerfeld was an avid collector, decorator, and photographer, using his multiple homes as canvases to express his eclectic tastes and unwavering pursuit of aesthetic excellence.
Throughout his life, Lagerfeld meticulously acquired and transformed at least 20 properties, each imbued with its own distinct character. After his passing in 2019 at the age of 85, a significant portion of his possessions were auctioned by Sotheby’s, inspiring author Patrick Mauriès to chronicle the designer’s remarkable abodes. Enlisting the expertise of renowned design journalist Marie Kalt, Mauriès embarked on an exploration of Lagerfeld’s many homes, culminating in the captivating anthology, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Houses.”
Kalt faced the challenge of capturing the essence of Lagerfeld’s homes, given the limited availability of firsthand accounts. Through diligent research, she delved into auction lots and magazine articles, piecing together the intricate details of each abode. What emerged was a portrait of a man whose enigmatic public persona was mirrored in his highly personalized interiors.
“Each house had its own precise inspiration, and it told him a story,” explains Kalt. “He would then delve completely into it, everything to do with that particular period, then reinvent that story in his own manner.” Lagerfeld’s obsessive attention to detail extended beyond aesthetics; he approached the design of his homes with the same meticulousness he applied to his fashion collections, striving to create spaces that were not only visually stunning but also meticulously tailored to his lifestyle.
While Lagerfeld’s homes were often photographed, both by himself and for various publications, Kalt notes that his private apartments in Monaco and Rome received less exposure. Instead, Lagerfeld preferred to showcase his more extravagant properties, such as Hôtel Pozzo di Borgo in Paris and La Vigie on the Cote d’Azur, which were not only lavish but also served as backdrops for his photography and entertaining.
Throughout his life, Lagerfeld’s design aesthetic evolved, from opulent grandeur to understated elegance and everything in between. Yet, despite the eclecticism of his tastes, there remained a sense of impermanence in his approach to home décor. “With Karl, you could feel that, over the years, he would love something and then he would dismiss it; then he would love something else and dismiss that,” observes Kalt. “He was secretive, and from these homes, you don’t understand much about the man because there’s nothing very personal, apart from tiny details here and there.”
Despite the absence of overtly personal touches, Lagerfeld’s discerning eye and meticulous attention to detail are evident in the occasional objects that appear in multiple homes across different eras. These recurring elements, like breadcrumbs left for the most observant, offer tantalizing glimpses into the designer’s evolving tastes and thought processes.
Of all the properties featured in “Karl Lagerfeld: A Life in Houses,” Kalt found the neo-Classical Villa Jako in Hamburg to be particularly captivating. Despite his long-held insistence that he would not return to his native Germany, Lagerfeld purchased the villa in 1991 and resided there until 1998. “The Hamburg house is my favorite,” says Kalt. “I thought it was probably close to what he really liked – that early 20th century German taste. There were beautiful pieces in there. I also loved the building and the idea that he finally ended up buying a house in Hamburg, nearly walking distance from his family home when he was a child. There was something quite moving about that.”
Each of Lagerfeld’s homes stands as a testament to his ever-evolving tastes and his unwavering commitment to aesthetic excellence. From grand opulence to understated elegance, Lagerfeld’s spaces were not merely living quarters but extensions of his creative genius. “Forever a fashion icon, Lagerfeld also proved to be an idiosyncratic interior designer, leaving the world with a collection of compelling spaces, whose stories and sub-texts are still being decoded,” concludes Kalt.
