Birman breed, Choupette Lagerfeld earned $4 million in 2014. But what of other four-legged friends proving their potential in the fashion industry?
Meet fashion's most famous animal face. Brush aside the ego-driven supermodel, Choupette has arrived with a $4 million pay cheque to stake her claim in the industry. Yes, we're talking about a cat. But not just any cat, Karl Lagerfeld's long-haired, pristine white, Birman.
Lagerfeld revealed Choupette's earning potential to The Cut. “She did two jobs and made 3 million euros last year. One was for cars in Germany and the other was for a Japanese beauty product.” Landing just two jobs - one, a collaboration with cosmetics brand Shu Uemura who created a capsule Shupette makeup collection, the other for a campaign with Vauxhall Corsa's car calendar, Choupette managed to out-earn her closest Chanel rival, Cara Delevingne. Already the subject of the novel, 'The Private Life of a High-Flying Cat' which revealed Choupette's tendency to fly first class as well as enjoying two personal maids by the names of Françoise and Marjorie, Lagerfeld revealed, “she hates other animals and she hates children. She stays always with me and she has two personal maids. They play with her, they have to take care of her beautiful white hair, the beauty treatments for her eyes, and they entertain her. She is the centre of the world. If you saw her, you would understand.”
Her personal Instagram account (@choupettesdiary) has attracted 55 thousand followers and counting. Recently she landed a coveted spot on the cover of US magazine, Lucky for their '100+ Stylish Animals' issue.
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Choupette is just one of many creatures to be utilised by fashion designers and their brands. Valentino pledged his allegiance to six pugs named Milton (now deceased), Molly, Margot, Monty, Maggie and Maude - they were a prominent features in the 2008 documentary, Valentino: The Last Emperor, filmed by Matt Tyrnauer. Marc Jacobs meanwhile is the proud owner of two French Bulldogs by the name of Angus and India. And most recently Giorgio Armani celebrated 40 decades in the business with an official portait shot by François Dischinger, holding his cat Angel.