Karl Lagerfeld Tells All...

For the 10th anniversary of the International Herald Tribune's Luxury Conference in London, the intrepid Suzy Menkes got the chance to interview the inevitable creative director of the House of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld. Selected excerpts follow...

Although sometimes irritating, Lagerfeld remains nevertheless one of the main pillars of French fashion. Without him, the fashion world would lose a much of its flavor. And when Karl Lagerfeld finds himself confronted by questions from a fashion journalist known for not systematically flattering her subjects' egos, people pay attention.

To the question, "Who is the real Karl Lagerfeld?", the subject answered that he sees himself above all else like a "cocktail" and admits that he does not take himself too seriously. This being said, he does consider himself (via his career at Chanel) as the originator of the big fashion house/designer duo concept, e.g., Gucci/Tom Ford and Lanvin/Elbaz.

And if, sometimes, he does allow himself to be used at Chanel, it is only because he allows it. At 31 rue Cambon, Paris, he is still the sole captain of the ship.

On another topic, while Lagerfeld may have witnessed the evolution of our society, the 70-something year old declares that he never looks back. He keeps no archives and cultivates the idea that if too much respect is paid to the heritage of a house, the house is destined to disappear. From his point of view, his survival is obviously based on the deconstruction of his own rules, which are then redefined in the light of the present. Lagerfeld also declares that he does not think about his succession or his future collections.

Finally, always ready to launch a few poisoned arrows, Lagerfeld had this to say about the Hermès/LVMH affair: the directors of the French house should have (like Chanel) been wary of entering the stock market. As for the plethora of films on Coco Chanel, he did not like any of them.

Click here to watch the interview: http://video.nytimes.com/karl-lagerfeld-in-his-own-words