Sunglasses, fingerless gloves, neatly ponytailed hair and tremendous talent. This is how the world commemorates the greatest designer and fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld, who passed away exactly four years ago. He was known as the emperor of the fashion industry, had an extraordinary working capacity and managed three brands at once with seemingly ease. Lagerfeld has proven time and again by his example that nothing is impossible.
It was she who revived the dying house of Chanel in 1982, she was the one who came up with the iconic Fendi abbreviation, and thanks to her, the main style icons of the last century began to dress in Chloé: Jackie Kennedy, Brigitte Bardot, Maria Callas and Grace Kelly.
Karl Lagerfeld’s contribution to the fashion industry is so great that even if the material is divided into several parts, it is impossible to describe it as a whole. After all, he not only created clothes, but also shot some advertising campaigns himself, developed the design of buildings and hotels, and even directed the short film Once Upon a Time with Keira Knightley in the lead role.
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Karl Lagerfeld. Photo: Getty Images -
Karl Lagerfeld. Photo: Getty Images
But everyone started somewhere, and Karl Lagerfeld is no exception. After winning the competition for young fashion designers from the International Wool Secretariat, Pierre Balmain noticed her and invited her to the position of personal assistant. True, after three years of work Lagerfeld left with the words: “I was not born to be an assistant.” The rest, as they say, is history.
Today we decided to recall how the careers of other talented designers began. So, are you ready to completely immerse yourself in the archive?
Valentino Garavani
The founder of the Valentino brand was born in 1932 in the small town of Voghera in northern Italy. When he was only 17, his family allowed him to go to Milan for design courses, and two years later he moved to France, where he began looking for an internship. First attempts were unsuccessful. Valentino Garavani failed all test missions at the Paris homes of Jacques Fath and Balenciaga. Then he decided to get a job with designer Jean Desse – first only as an intern, then as an artist. As a result, he worked there for five years.
Yves Saint Laurent
The great fashion designer was born and raised in Algeria. But after graduation she moved with her family to the capital of fashion. And she immediately began to rise to the Olympus of the industry. Yves Saint Laurent entered the International Wool Secretariat competition at the age of 16 and placed third. And a year later she won and received the award for best evening dress. She was noticed by Michel de Brunoff, then editor-in-chief of French Vogue, and introduced her to Christian Dior. And now, a year later, she becomes his assistant. Dior once admitted in an interview: “Yves Saint Laurent is young but has tremendous talent. In my latest collection, I see him as the creator of 34 of the 180 designs. I think it’s time to put it to the press. My reputation will not suffer from that.
Christian Dior
Perhaps we will surprise you now, but Christian Dior opened his own brand only at the age of 40. Before that, he worked in his own gallery where he exhibited paintings by Picasso and Henri Matisse, and then sold sketches to Paris fashion houses and illustrated the pages of Le Figaro magazine. She got her first job as a design assistant by meeting fashion designer Robert Piguet. True, cooperation did not last long due to the outbreak of war. Dior returned from the front in 1940 and took a job with Lucien Lelong. Only six years later he decided to establish his own brand.
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani initially dreamed of becoming a doctor, and after school he entered the medical faculty of the University of Milan. True, two years later, the plans of the future designer changed and he received the documents. After becoming a photographer, he enlisted in the military. It was only in 1961 that Armani became an assistant to fashion designer Nino Cerutti. There she worked on sewing, cutting and pattern making for the next six years.
Alexander McQueen
A few years before attending Central Saint Martin’s College, Lee Alexander McQueen took a job as an apprentice at Anderson and Shepherd, specializing in men’s suits. According to a legend, the designer III. person”). Provocateur, what else can be said.
Phoebe Philo
Phoebe Philo is a true intellectual genius of minimalism and one of the most talented designers of our time. I’m sure you’ve heard the story of how he revived the French brand Celine. But did you know that she joined the Chloé team in 1996 as an assistant to Stella McCartney? True, already in 2001, Phoebe replaced him as the creative director.
Raf Simons
At the age of 23 (1991), Raf Simons graduated from the university in Ghent with a degree in Industrial and Furniture Design and immediately interned with Walter van Beirendonck, one of the members of the famous Antwerp Six. Thanks to this designer, young Raf went to the Martin Margiela fashion show and was so impressed that he decided to start his own career in the fashion industry. A few years ago, Simons admitted in an interview that nothing in the fashion world has had a greater impact on her since then.
Nicolas Ghesquiere
Nicolas Ghesquière has been the creative director of Louis Vuitton’s women’s collection for 10 years. Prior to that, he worked at Balenciaga in a similar position for 15 years. But the path of the designer did not begin in these fashion houses. In 1990, 18-year-old Ghesquière graduated from high school and turned down a place at an art college to do an internship with Jean Paul Gaultier. And I didn’t lose! He worked as a design assistant for over two years.
jean paul gaultier
But Jean-Paul Gaultier at first dreamed of becoming a hairdresser, but later sent his sketches to Pierre Cardin and received an invitation to become his assistant. True, she worked there for a little over a year, after which she moved to the fashion house of Jean Patou.
Source: People Talk
Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
