When Karl Lagerfeld was appointed to the helm of the then sleepy fashion house in 1983, he set out to radically shake up and update its image – not only through bold collections but also, from 1987 onwards, by choosing to shoot the house’s campaigns himself (a move that was unprecedented for a fashion designer, long before Hedi Slimane and Tom Ford followed Lagerfeld’s example).
Conceived in collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld and the house of Chanel, this definitive publication opens with an essay by Patrick Mauries before exploring the campaigns themselves, organized chronologically. A carefully curated selection of images showcases hundreds of spectacular clothes worn by the top fashion models – and personalities – of each era, from Ines de La Fressange, Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne, to Kristen Stewart, Willow Smith and Lily Rose Depp, captured in glamorous locations, from Coco Chanel’s Paris apartment to the French Riviera, Rodeo Drive or the streets of Cuba.
