Karl Lagerfeld is forging his way as an iconic fashion designer, being at the helm of Chanel, Fendi, and his own eponymous brand. He’s also become notable for making outrageous statements that borderline on controversial, and some that are just plain funny. Here’s a roundup of 35 Karl Lagerfeld quotes on everything from men and fashion to women and weight.
1. “There are not too many people with an opinion I care for. I’m not crazy to discuss fashion with men. I couldn’t care less about their opinion.”
3. “Yes, some people say to me you’re too skinny, but never a skinny person says that to me, only people who could lose a few pounds say that.”
4. “We live in a dark and romantic and quite tragic world.”
5. “I don’t know Heidi Klum. She was never known in France. Claudia Schiffer also doesn’t know who she is.”
6. “These are fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television, saying that thin models are ugly. Fashion is about dreams and illusions, and no one wants to see round women.”
7. “I’m a working-class person, working with class.”
9. “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants.”
10. “Work is making a living out of being bored.”
11. “Nobody wants Greece to disappear, but they have really disgusting habits – Italy as well.”
12. “It would have been difficult to have an ugly daughter … If I were a woman, I would love to have lots of kids. But for men, I don’t believe in it.”
13. “Life is not a beauty contest, some [ugly people] are great. What I hate is nasty, ugly people … the worst is ugly, short men. Women can be short, but for men it is impossible. It is something that they will not forgive in life … they are mean and they want to kill you.”
15. “I am not a second option person. It is that or nothing. If it is not the way I see it I prefer not to see it.”
16. “Chanel is an institution, and you have to treat an institution like a whore – and then you get something out of her.”
17. “I’m very much down to earth, just not this earth.”
18. “If I was a woman in Russia, I’d be a lesbian, as the men are very ugly.”
19. “Forgiveness isn’t something I’m preoccupied with – turning the other cheek isn’t my trip.”
21. “Kate Middleton has a nice silhouette and she is the right girl for that boy. I like that kind of woman, I like romantic beauties. On the other hand, her sister struggles. I don’t like the sister’s face. She should only show her back.”
22. “Normally, I don’t recommend me for wedding dresses – they all get a divorce.”
23. “I have no human feelings.”
24. “Keep the best, forget the rest.”
25. “I don’t do selfies. But other people do, and they all want to do selfies with me. No, no, no. We live in a world of selfies now … Thank God, Sébastien, my assistant, he’s mean to the people in the street, mean and rude. I’m a nice person.”
27. “I had an interview once with some German journalist – some horrible, ugly woman. It was in the early days after the communists – maybe a week after – and she wore a yellow sweater that was kind of see-through. She had huge tits and a huge black bra, and she said to me, ‘It’s impolite; remove your glasses.’ I said, ‘Do I ask you to remove your bra?”
28. “Think pink but don’t wear it.”
29. “In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and clothes and even handbags, the discussion of fur is childish.”
30. “Vanity is the healthiest thing in life.”
31. “When people want to be liked for what they did, they should stop.”
33. “I get along with everyone except for men my age, who are bourgeois or retired or boring.”
34. “No one wants to see curvy women.”
35. “Everything I say is a joke. I am a joke myself.”
