For years, invitations to Chanel fashion shows designed by Karl Lagerfeld have been coveted collector’s items: sketches of animals, imaginary figures, landscapes, or dresses hand-drawn by the designer transformed each invitation into a one-of-a-kind work of art. Today, that creative legacy is coming to light thanks to a new auction organized by Sotheby’s in Paris, which will offer over a thousand previously unseen drawings from the designer’s personal archive. The sale, scheduled online from July 2 to 8, includes not only sketches and preparatory studies but also working documents, personal items, and some iconic accessories that belonged to Lagerfeld. Many of the drawings will be offered individually, while others will be presented in groups that allow buyers to closely follow the designer’s creative process, demonstrating how drawing served as a daily tool for research, design, and imagination.
According to Pierre Mothes, vice president of Sotheby’s France, the value of this collection lies precisely in its intimate nature: these are works that Lagerfeld never intended for the fashion houses he worked for, but kept until the end of his life. A collection spanning decades of work, from the 1970s onward, that paints a portrait of a tireless creator. Famous for his work with Chanel, and before that with Fendi, Chloé, and his eponymous brand, Lagerfeld considered drawing the starting point of every idea. His sketches were displayed in his studio and translated into garments by seamstresses and patternmakers, in a process that made paper the first place where fashion came to life.
Although all bids will start symbolically at one euro, the organizers anticipate significant interest in the more elaborate, hand-colored illustrations, as well as in certain politically themed drawings and those dedicated to Jacques de Bascher, a central figure in the designer’s private life. Previous auction results, moreover, demonstrate strong demand from collectors: some of Lagerfeld’s works have already fetched hundreds of thousands of euros. Alongside the drawings are also objects that reflect his passions and habits: among the most unusual lots are, for example, Swedish benches from the 1920s, a testament to his love for Art Deco, and about two hundred fully functional iPods. Lagerfeld used them to catalog music in an almost obsessive manner, going so far as to buy a different device for each musical genre.
The auction thus showcases not only the work of one of the most influential designers of the 20th century and the early 2000s, but also a portrait of a personality obsessed with archiving, cataloging, and collecting images, objects, and references. A creative universe in which the act of preserving was inseparable from that of creating.
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