Karl Lagerfeld on why fashion rivals who don't draw their own designs are 'fake intellectuals'
Karl Lagerfeld has accused some of his fashion rivals of not drawing their own designs and being "fake intellectuals".
The designer refuses to name names but said his success was down to him sketching everything himself and, in the notoriously catty fashion world, being "quite polite".
Last year, Victoria Beckham admitted she used a team of artists to sketch her designs, while Kate Moss, who has had numerous collections with Topshop, has said: "I can’t draw a dress."
Lagerfeld, 83, says: "I don’t do a computer, I don’t have a studio [with] 20 people sketching. I sketch myself everything and I’m pretty good at it because I wanted to become an illustrator at the beginning."
"Today it’s very different. First of all some of the younger designers are not that young. And also you know they are art directors - I’m not an art director - so they have people, and then they make a choice, and then they go out after the show and make believe they did it all. It’s the way every studio is organised today. But not mine."
He says some designers take themselves too seriously, telling CNBC’s Tania Bryer: "I don’t give you names… but the list is not that short."
"What I don’t like are designers who are fake intellectuals and who call themselves, ‘We are very intellectual.’ No, no, no. Dress-making is dressmaking. Philosophy is philosophy but you don’t have to mix it. I’m easy to work with because I’m quite polite... some are not. They are nice [and] conserved for the outside."
He describes Kendall Jenner as a "nice kid," and says of photographing the model and her sister Kim Kardashian: "I photographed them before... there was no problem at all because if you have to photograph famous people - and I will say something pretentious - if you are vaguely famous yourself it is much easier.”
The CNBC Conversation airs at 8pm tonight.
Karl Lagerfeld on fashion rivals who don't draw their own designsKendall JennerKarl LagerfeldKim KardashianChanelVictoria BeckhamKate MossHe also described Kendall Jenner as a 'nice kid' and talks about photographing her sister Kim