He has revealed his own book collection sits at around 300,000 so it would be only fitting to appear as the hero in one of his own. Fendi pays homage to Karl Lagerfeld, master of reinvention and multitasking, as the House shares the story behind its record-breaking creative collaboration in 'Fendi by Karl Lagerfeld'.
By Susan Devaney
‘Today, I only collect books; there is no room left for something else. If you go to my house, I’ll have you walk around the books. I ended up with a library of 300,000. It’s a lot for an individual’, he told Women’s Wear Daily. Lagerfeld is a self- confessed bookworm, avid reader and lover of literature. For the fashion world, it came as no surprise when he opened his bookshop 7L in 1999, closely followed by his publishing company Editions 7L. If anyone knows the importance of writing and sharing a great story, it’s Lagerfeld. Their partnership first began in 1965. The five Fendi sisters Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla and Alda began to weave their own story with Lagerfeld.
Campaign images and Karl's sketches featured in the book. ^
The ‘creatives’ amongst us can (usually) only dream of finding a partner who is working from the same page as themselves. But – 50 years on, Fendi and Lagerfeld are still intertwined in their long-standing creative process – with Silvia Fendi now taking the helm. ‘There’s no rule; I take ideas from him and he takes ideas from me - it’s like osmosis. He’s based in Paris and I’m in Milan, so often Karl will offer his ideas and then I’ll work each day to build on his references. I understand him very well now, so I know how to surprise him each time - to see the reaction in his eyes is something I’ve been trained to find’, artistic director Silvia Fendi previously told MOJEH. Working together in Italy, Lagerfeld flies to collaborate side-by-side with Silvia. ‘When he comes to Rome we only have a couple of days to pull everything together and make final selections, so we normally work through the nights and undoubtedly things will continue to change up until moments before the show. When I was a little girl I remember the same thing happening with my mother Anna - Karl always had the most incredible references and inspirations and everyone would work on perfecting them until the very last moment’, she says. Their admiration for each other has been unwavering throughout the years – with Karl calling the second generation of the Fendi family, ‘the five fingers of a hand’. They’re attributed to bringing a new enthusiasm and success to the brand after they started in 1946. It was during the Fifties that the shift of what was wanted by women was felt and catered for by the family. There was a social evolution across Europe and the sisters knew how to reshape fur to fit the new outlook – it had to be modern. Every collection since has ventured into new territory and fur remains with a constant fresh aesthetic.
Karl's sketches featured in the book. ^
Redesigning Fendi logos and researching new materials was a movement made by Lagerfeld – making way for inimitable craftsmanship. New methods of interweaving materials were studied and implemented, materials were imprinted, fur became pleated and coloured, lining was removed, leather was treated, lightened and open-worked. The way we initially viewed fur was changed forever; it became fun.
Lagerfeld has been an integral part of Fendi’s constant revival and reinvention of fur decade after decade. Positioned inside a small wooden box, Fendi’s book plays with a collector’s scrapbook appeal. Their story – of the longest relationship between a designer and Maison in the fashion industry - is detailed with beautiful sketches and precious moments from their historic archive. With a recent worldwide preview of the book at Cannes Film Festival, we can expect to lay our hands on a copy when it reaches bookshelves this summer.
