What I do Coco would have hated. The label has an image and it's up to me to update it. I do what she never did. I had to find my mark. I had to go from what Chanel was to what it should be, could be, what it had been to something else.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the idea of evolving and redefining a legacy.
In this quote, Karl Lagerfeld emphasizes the importance of innovation and personal interpretation within the context of the fashion brand Chanel, which was originally established by Coco Chanel. He acknowledges that while staying true to the brand's heritage, he feels a responsibility to transform it for modern times and make it relevant in a changing world, marking a clear distinction between past and future directions in fashion.
In practice
In a fashion seminar discussing legacy brands and innovation.
I believe in sketching because there is something very sensitive in sketching, you know, in sketches that you don't have out of a computer that looks the same like everybody even if, later on, the dresses are OK, but I like to sketch, and I like to see trails made after my sketches that look the same. It is you know, what I like.
I'm open to everything. When you start to criticize the times you live in, your time is over.
If I could be reincarnated as a fashion accessory, it would be a shopping bag.
Chic is a kind of mayonnaise, either it tastes, or it doesn't.
Why should I stop working? If I do, I'll die and it'll all be finished. 'm lucky to work in the most perfect of conditions. I can do what I want in all kinds of areas. The expenses are not expenses. I would be stupid to stop that. Work is making a living out of being bored.
Elegance has nothing to do with fashion.
I've had my own moments in front of designers when I've actually said, 'You know, there's a market here for expanding your work, and here it is. And frankly, there are two markets: The women who are larger than the 12, and then there are women who are petite. And most designers that I talk to have absolutely no interest in addressing either of those populations, which I find repugnant.
A woman has no need to be perfect or even beautiful to wear my dresses. The dress will do all that for her.
It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory of fashion that heralds your arrival and prolongs your departure.
I think it is a good thing to buy less and choose well - it's good for the environment and to be fair it's also good for me because my clothes are quite expensive.
Always choose style over fashion: wear something that makes you look beautiful.
The thing I always try to remember is that feet are attached to the leg, and that you must prolong the silhouette. The shoe elongates the leg and does it discreetly. The goal is to get people to look at a woman's legs. It's all about the leg. No, it's not about the leg. It's about the woman.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.