Karl Lagerfeld has written fashion history and, without a doubt, ranks among the most influential fashion designers in the world. Over a period of sixty years, he has transformed the zeitgeist into fitting creations and has provided new momentum to the world of fashion. The Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn has now dedicated an exhibition to him. With its 126 looks, the exhibition not only provides insight into Lagerfeld’s sixty years of creations but also displays the individual lines that he developed for Fendi, Chanel, and his own label.

Lagerfeld’s success story began in 1954, when he and his unconventional coat design won first prize at the International Wool Secretariat (IWS) competition in Bremen. This was followed by an apprenticeship with Pierre Balmain, where he remained for three years. He became Art Director at Jean Patou, but then started his own business as an independent fashion designer at the beginning of the 1960s.

Before long, he was hired by Chloé and then Fendi, and was instrumental in shaping their designs over the course of the decades he spent working for the two fashion houses. Even the Fendi logo with the mirrored letter F sprung from his pen. In 1983, he became Art Director at Chanel and then founded his own label in 1984. Between 1992 and 1997, Lagerfeld designed more collections for Chloé, for whom he also created the continually successful Chloé fragrance in 1975. In more recent times, he once again became a talking point through the “Karl Lagerfeld for H&M” campaign, in which he designed 30 articles of clothing for the Swedish chain.

In its superb exhibition, the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn is now presenting a total of 126 creations, as well as numerous shoes and handbags, from sixty years of Karl Lagerfeld’s work. Under the title “Karl Lagerfeld. Modemethode”, the exhibition recounts a chapter of 20th and 21st century fashion history. Divided into dedicated themed areas – Fendi, Chloé, Lagerfeld, Dress as Uniform, and Haute Couture – the curators Lady Amanda Harlech and Rein Wolfs have succeeded in encapsulating the unique, individual signature style of each label and look. For example, Lagerfeld’s works for Chloé are illustrated using 20 outfits that were created for the luxury label in the period between 1966 and 1996.

30 works for Fendi bear witness to the long period of collaboration between the couturier and the Italian label. From the period between 1970 and the present, the exhibition displays dresses, suits, coats, overalls – which were popular in the 1970s – as well as a variety of accessories. Around one third of the outfits are made from high-quality and innovatively-processed skins, furs and leathers, which Lagerfeld used to reinterpret and rework the traditions of the Italian fashion houses in the 1970s.

The exhibition showcases the artist’s original work with 14 dresses and suits from the Karl Lagerfeld label made between 1986 and 2011. Spotlighting 62 looks, the exhibits from the Chanel fashion house make up the lion’s share of the exhibition. The “Karl Lagerfeld. Modemethode” exhibition will run until 13 September 2015 in the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn.

[ www.bundeskunsthalle.de]

[Sabine Anton-Katzenbach]