Paradise Now
The Extraordinary Life of Karl Lagerfeld
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- USD 17.99
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- USD 17.99
Descripción editorial
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE MAJOR DOCUMENTARY COMING SOON IN 2026
Karl Lagerfeld ran Chanel for 35 years, reinventing it from a brand nearing bankruptcy with only one boutique back to one of the top fashion houses in the world.
But who was the man behind the myth?
In this deliciously entertaining book, the author draws on his personal relationship with Lagerfeld to take us inside the most exclusive rooms in the fashion industry, behind the catwalk, and into a world of brilliantly talented artists, stylish socialites, and famous stars-some of the most elusive and unforgettable figures of fashion's inner circle for the past four decades.
Journalist and author William Middleton spent years working in Paris for Women's Wear Daily, W, and Harper's Bazaar, interviewing and socialising with Lagerfeld many times over the years, getting to intimately know not only his work and his professional journey, but also what the elusive designer kept private from the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Recently deceased fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld holds down the center of a glamorous universe in this luminous biography. Journalist Middleton (Double Vision) surveys his subject's celebrated career as a designer for Chloé and Fendi, his revitalization of Chanel as its chief couture designer, and his 2004 triumph with a collection for H&M of garments so popular that one shopper bit another to obtain one when stocks ran low. Middleton's Lagerfeld is himself a fashion statement, with his trademark powdered white ponytail, black sunglasses, and fingerless gloves, as well as a man of dual natures. A "harsh, intimidating, even unpleasant" figure, Lagerfeld brims over with "bitchy bon mots" ("ballerina costumes for menopausal fashion victims," he sniffed of one rival's designs) and abrasive opinions, but in private had an inviting and magnetic personality. Middleton's animated portrait paints Lagerfeld's life as a whirl of clubbing, parties that occasionally end in orgies, and over-the-top fashion shows acted out by luminaries in gorgeous clothes and sumptuous locales. Fashion doesn't emerge as a great or even coherent art here—"‘It is not black in the sense of black.... It's black in the sense of chic!"' is about as deep as Lagerfeld gets—but Middleton ably conveys the industry's fizzy exuberance and the character of one of its definitive figures. This is a crackling chronicle of one of the fashion world's punchiest personalities.
