A Who’s Who of Karl Lagerfeld’s Entourage
Photo: Stephane Cardinale/People Avenue/Corbis
Being a part of Karl Lagerfeld’s entourage sounds like a dream come true. Whether it’s his pampered cat, Choupette, or his ever-changing cabal of male models, every member of his inner circle lives the high-fashion life of Riley — Flying private to elite destinations! Sitting front row at fashion shows! Enjoying unlimited swag, from 2.55 bags to Steinway pianos! Until they’re out, that is. “You need a sword of Damocles hanging over a relationship. That shows how good it is,” was how the designer put it in the documentary Lagerfeld Confidential. In honor of the Chanel show in Paris on Tuesday, we’ve round up the cast of characters, past and present. Click through our slideshow below to meet the 18 adults, one child, and one cat who make up Karl’s ever-changing crew. (Omitted because he appears so rarely in photos: Lagerfeld’s personal Diet Pepsi steward. But, yes, he reportedly has one of those, too.)
Brad Kroenig, Hudson Kroenig Karl likes them corn-fed, and the 35-year-old Missourian certainly fits the bill. Lagerfeld “discovered” Kroenig on ...
Brad Kroenig, Hudson Kroenig Karl likes them corn-fed, and the 35-year-old Missourian certainly fits the bill. Lagerfeld “discovered” Kroenig on a VMan shoot in Biarritz in 2004, though by that point he'd already modeled for A+F, Tommy Hilfiger, and Perry Ellis. The Kaiser calls Brad and 6-year-old son Hudson (the older of Brad’s two children with partner Nicole) "my adoptive sons." Both generations of Kroenigs have modeled in his shows and campaigns, and, earlier this year, Hudson even got away with sassily telling Karl he was fired.
Karl Karma: Hudson has been featured on the Coveteur, in a shoot that featured his collection of stuffed animals alongside his collection of Karl-designed Fendi accessories. Think that little dude would have gotten that press (or that swag) without the KL connection?
Photo: Mario Magnani/Bauer-Griffin/2013 Bauer-Griffin
Lady Amanda Harlech In 1997, Lagerfeld spirited the aristocratic Brit away from Dior, where she had been working with John Galliano. She now work...
Lady Amanda Harlech In 1997, Lagerfeld spirited the aristocratic Brit away from Dior, where she had been working with John Galliano. She now works with him as a consultant at both Chanel and Fendi, and told The Guardian that the job comes complete with an all-expenses-paid suite at the Ritz in Paris. Lagerfeld has even gifted her a brand-new Steinway piano. Still, she’s not exempt from the occasional Karl Kritique: “You look like a secretary,” he once told her after she purchased a pair of round-toed Manolo Blahnik pumps.
Karl Karma: Her new jewelry collection, Harlot & Bones, is getting a lot of press. Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/2013 Getty Images
Anna Mouglalis The actress, a Coco Chanel look-alike and Chanel brand ambassador, has known Lagerfeld since 2001. Mouglalis told Harper's Bazaar ...
Anna Mouglalis The actress, a Coco Chanel look-alike and Chanel brand ambassador, has known Lagerfeld since 2001. Mouglalis told Harper's Bazaar Australia, "I did a bit of modeling when I was younger and I hated it because I had the sensation that people wanted me to be cute or commercial and that I had to tame myself in order not to be what I was. But when I met with Karl it was the exact opposite. He wanted me to be myself."
Karl Karma: She landed the role of Coco herself in the film Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky. No doubt the Kaiser put in a good word. Photo: Venturelli/2014 Venturelli
Carine Roitfeld Roitfeld is a longtime collaborator who's worked with Lagerfeld on shoots for Harper's Bazaar, V, and her own title, CR Fashion B...
Carine Roitfeld Roitfeld is a longtime collaborator who's worked with Lagerfeld on shoots for Harper's Bazaar, V, and her own title, CR Fashion Book.
Karl Karma: After leaving Vogue Paris, she scored a plum role as Bazaar's international fashion editor, where she's worked with Karl on everything from last year's Singular Beauties portfolio to September's Lady Gaga cover. Photo: Andreas Rentz/2012 Getty Images
Laetitia Casta Rating high enough to merit an eyewear campaign and ten-page V photo spread with Choupette, the model is absolutely a KL favorite,...
Laetitia Casta Rating high enough to merit an eyewear campaign and ten-page V photo spread with Choupette, the model is absolutely a KL favorite, but that position was nearly lost at the V shoot. As Casta told Harper’s Bazaar U.K.: "So we are shooting on this balcony in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and I was so f*****g scared that Choupette would step back and fall off and that Karl would hate me forever because I killed his cat ... The cat was like, 'maaaiooowarrgh' and I was like, 'gasp.'”
Karl Karma: After honing her acting skills on that shoot, she won a César, the French equivalent of an Oscar, for her portrayal of Brigitte Bardot in Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life.
Photo: Andreas Rentz/2012 Getty Images
Baptiste Giabiconi "Skinny, skinny but with an athletic body — good for clothes and great with no clothes" is how Lagerfeld once descri...
Baptiste Giabiconi "Skinny, skinny but with an athletic body — good for clothes and great with no clothes" is how Lagerfeld once described 24-year-old Giabiconi. After discovering him in 2008, Lagerfeld cast him in multiple campaigns and runway shows and the model eventually leveraged his fame into a record deal. By way of a thank-you, Giabiconi gave Lagerfeld the love of his life, a.k.a. Choupette. That said, Baptiste was rather out of focus and in the background in Chanel's fall campaign. Trouble in paradise?
Karl Karma: In addition to the modeling and record deal, he got a date with Katy Perry.
Photo: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/2013 Bertrand Rindoff Petroff
Gilles Dufour Dufour began as Lagerfeld's assistant at Chanel in 1983. But when he left for Balmain — 15 years later — Lagerfeld w...
Gilles Dufour Dufour began as Lagerfeld's assistant at Chanel in 1983. But when he left for Balmain — 15 years later — Lagerfeld was irate. According to Hadley Freedman, writing in The Guardian, "Lagerfeld has yet to forgive him" for the transgression.
Karl Karma: Dufour was eventually fired from Balmain for showing T-shirts bearing the slogans WHORE and BITCH. Maybe someday he will find a receptive audience for his sweet, original message. Photo: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/2014 Bertrand Rindoff Petroff
Inès de la Fressange After serving as Lagerfeld's muse for many years and sharing .01 percent-style adventures, including taking the Conco...
Inès de la Fressange After serving as Lagerfeld's muse for many years and sharing .01 percent-style adventures, including taking the Concorde to see a performace of Aida at the pyramids, de la Fressange got friend-dumped in 1989. She said that Lagerfeld didn't like her then-boyfriend, Italian businessman Luigi d'Urso (whom she eventually married), and thought her plans to pose as Marianne, the national symbol of France, were tacky. "Once he feels abandoned, he turns naughty — like a little boy,” de la Fressange elaborated in W. They have since reconciled, and Lagerfeld has befriended her daughter, Violette d'Urso.
Karl Karma: After mending fences with Karl, de la Fressange scored a Uniqlo collaboration. Photo: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/2014 Bertrand Rindoff Petroff
Jamie Bochert Lagerfeld may have latched onto yet another new muse: He has enlisted the model not only to pose for his fall 2014 couture lo...
Jamie Bochert Lagerfeld may have latched onto yet another new muse: He has enlisted the model not only to pose for his fall 2014 couture look book but also to star in his promotional short films Once Upon a Time and The Return.
Karl Karma: She's giving Kendall Jenner a run for her money in the latest Givenchy campaign. Photo: Eric Ryan/2012 Eric Ryan
Sebastien Jondeau Jondeau literally doesn't leave Karl's side: He has been the designer's bodyguard for 15 years. Sometimes they even dress alike...
Sebastien Jondeau Jondeau literally doesn't leave Karl's side: He has been the designer's bodyguard for 15 years. Sometimes they even dress alike, Bobbsey Twins style. He began by working “more as a kind of driver and right-hand man,” Jondeau told Man of the World magazine last year, and also described his job as “a bit Buddhist.” To be a good bodyguard, he explained, “you have to be sure of yourself. At the same time, you need to be at peace with yourself, because if you are at war with the world and you have something to prove, you might kill someone. And that is no good.”
Karl Karma: He just Instagrammed a photo of himself getting on a private plane to Rome with the Ponytailed One in the foreground, so we'd say he's doing pretty great. Photo: DAMIEN MEYER/2011 AFP
Maiwenn Le Besco The actress and director was the face of the house's eyewear campaign in 2012. “Karl is someone who’s more attentive than affect...
Maiwenn Le Besco The actress and director was the face of the house's eyewear campaign in 2012. “Karl is someone who’s more attentive than affectionate,” she cryptically told W in 2012.
Karl Karma: Just think about how many pairs of Chanel sunglasses she probably owns. Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/2012 Getty Images
Marie-Louise de Clermont-Tonnerre De Clermont-Tonnerre has been the international head of press for Chanel since 1971, marking 43 years with the ...
Marie-Louise de Clermont-Tonnerre De Clermont-Tonnerre has been the international head of press for Chanel since 1971, marking 43 years with the company.
Karl Karma: She's still the international head of press for Chanel. Photo: BERTRAND RINDOFF PETROFF / ANGELI
Princess Caroline of Hanover Uncle Karl is basically an honorary member of Monaco's royal family, and he and Princess Caroline are often arm in a...
Princess Caroline of Hanover Uncle Karl is basically an honorary member of Monaco's royal family, and he and Princess Caroline are often arm in arm at glittering Monte Carlo events.
Karl Karma: Royals don't need Lagerfeld's help. Photo: Didier Baverel/2013 Didier Baverel
Stephen Gan Gan oversees the Visionaire/V empire and is creative director at Harper's Bazaar. The two have worked on countless shoots together, t...
Stephen Gan Gan oversees the Visionaire/V empire and is creative director at Harper's Bazaar. The two have worked on countless shoots together, though even Karl is not terribly clear on how they know each other: "You never know exactly how you know people. It’s something you cannot really put into words or degrees," the designer told Fashion Week Daily when asked how they met.
Karl Karma: Karl recently announced that he is putting the winner of the V magazine model search in the spring 2015 Chanel and Fendi shows. Take that, ANTM! Photo: KMazur
Virginie Viard Viard has been Lagerfeld's studio director since 1987, close enough that he texts her and allows her to call him tu (the informal ...
Virginie Viard Viard has been Lagerfeld's studio director since 1987, close enough that he texts her and allows her to call him tu (the informal French you).
Karl Karma: She's on the receiving end of texts from Karl! Photo: VALERY HACHE/2008 AFP
Virginie Mouzat After meeting Karl when she was a young model and he was designing at Chloé, Mouzat transitioned into fashion journalism. ...
Virginie Mouzat After meeting Karl when she was a young model and he was designing at Chloé, Mouzat transitioned into fashion journalism. Over the years, she has written multiple loving pieces about the designer.
Karl Karma: She is now editor-in-chief of French Vanity Fair. Photo: Venturelli/2014 Venturelli
Laetitia Crahay Proof that there’s room for individual expression in Karl’s inner circle: Fourteen years ago Chanel's accessories and costume jew...
Laetitia Crahay Proof that there’s room for individual expression in Karl’s inner circle: Fourteen years ago Chanel's accessories and costume jewelry designer arrived for her first day of work on her skateboard, and is currently pursuing her own design projects. Plus, she gets to play around with double C-logo beach balls and frolic in the Chanel supermarket — not a bad gig.
Karl Karma: With investment from Chanel, her headwear line, Maison Michel (think bunny ears), has really taken off. Photo: BERTRAND RINDOFF PETROFF / ANGEL
Choupette No one is closer to Karl than this cat. She is the fluffy core of his inner circle. Since joining the Lagerfeld family in 2011, she has...
Choupette No one is closer to Karl than this cat. She is the fluffy core of his inner circle. Since joining the Lagerfeld family in 2011, she has appeared in spreads in Harper's Bazaar, i-D, W, and V. Lagerfeld has said that Choupette eats from a Goyard dish and has two personal maids to attend to her. He even told CNN that he would like to marry her, were it only legal: "There is no marriage, yet, for human beings and animals … I never thought that I would fall in love like this with a cat." Please hide this quote from all religious conservatives. Karl Karma: She's starred in a handful of editorials, has over 40,000 Twitter followers, and will soon release her namesake bag line, Monster Choupette. But, most of all, she has the status of being Karl's one true muse.
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