Karl Otto Lagerfeld is a German creative director, artist, and photographer based in Paris. He is the head creative director of the fashion house Chanel as well as the Italian house Fendi and his own eponymous fashion label. Over the decades, he has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art-related projects. He is well recognized around the world for his white hair, black sunglasses, and high starched collars.

“Please don’t say I work hard.  Nobody is forced to do this job and if they don’t like it, they should do another one.  If it’s too much, do something else.  But don’t start doing it and then say ‘aaaah, it’s too much’. Because a lot of people depend on it.  What we do at Chanel, thousands of people work on these things; these things are sold in hundreds and hundreds of shops all over the world.  People like the big machine, and the money the big machine involves, but the effort… Then suddenly they become artists.  They are too weak.  Too fragile.  No.  We have to be tough.  We cannot talk about our suffering.  People buy dresses to be happy, not to hear about somebody who suffered over a piece of taffeta.  Me, I like to make an effort.  I like nothing better than concrete reality.  I’m a very down to earth person, but it is my job to make the earth more pleasant.”

“Don’t sacrifice yourself too much, because if you sacrifice too much there’s nothing else you can give and nobody will care for you.”

“People who do a job that claims to be creative have to be alone to recharge their batteries. You can’t live 24 hours a day in the spotlight and remain creative. For people like me, solitude is a victory.”

“Don’t look to the approval of others for your mental stability”

“A respectable appearance is sufficient to make people more interested in your soul”

“People who say that yesterday was better than today are ultimately devaluing their own existence.”

“Books are a hard-bound drug with no danger of an overdose. I am the happy victim of books.”

“Logos and branding are so important. In a big part of the world, people cannot read French or English–but are great in remembering signs”