The muses of Karl Lagerfeld From Claudia Schiffer to Kristen Stewart

Every great designer had his muse, a figure who could embody his ideal of beauty and inspire his creativity. Hubert de Givenchy had Audrey Hepburn, Jean Paul Gaultier had Madonna, Gianni Versace had his sister Donatella, Azzedine Alaïa had Grace Jones, but Karl Lagerfeld never limited himself to just one person. From his first job as assistant to Pierre Balmain to his last days as creative director of Fendi and Chanel, the emperor of fashion often switched muse, turning to different collaborators, stars and models from time to time, in many cases helping to turn them into fashion icons. Starting with his beloved Choupette, the cream-coloured, ice-blue-eyed Burmese cat that Karl treated like a daughter, the list of names that influenced his style is very long and includes Anna Piaggi, Carine Roitfeld, Caroline De Maigret, Keira Knightley, Naomi Campbell, Diane Kruger, Baptiste Giabiconi, Brad Kroenig and son Hudson Kroenig, Lily Allen, Lily-Rose Depp and many, many others. What do they have in common? They are interesting, unconventional, irreverent and have the undisputed 'it' factor.
Now, with the Met Gala 2023 coming up to celebrate his career, G-Club has selected some of Karl Lagerfeld's favourite muses to find out more about the German designer and his relationship with fashion and beauty.

Inès de la Fressange

To this day, Kristen Stewart is one of Chanel's most recognisable faces, wearing Virginie Viard's designs at every event, but her relationship with the brand began in 2013 when Lagerfeld appointed her as an ambassador. In 2019, following the designer's death, Stewart said, "It's funny how it looks, so severe and so scary. But he was not. He was incredibly welcoming, frenzied, incredibly unpretentious. He liked what he liked because he liked it. He was a flamboyant bastard, but it was true."