Karl Lagerfeld
Fashion's Renaissance man explains how he manages to design, photograph and publish--and why he never talks politics
By Karl Lagerfeld; Kate Betts

JEROME DELAY / AP The designer at the opening of Chanel's spring-summer 2005 haute couture fashion collection presented in Paris

Spring 2005 Style & Design
In addition to juggling eight collections a year for Chanel, Fendi and his own line, Lagerfeld Gallery, Karl Lagerfeld photographs advertising campaigns and publishes books. He hooked up last fall with Swedish retail giant H&M to create a capsule collection of affordable fashion that flew off the shelves in a matter of days. That wildly successful collaboration led to the sale last December of his eponymous line to Tommy Hilfiger Corp. for an undisclosed sum. At 66, Lagerfeld is the most prolific designer ever to come down the runway. TIME'S Kate Betts talked to him about icons, inspiration and, of all things, politics.

YOU'VE HAD MANY MUSES IN YOUR CAREER. IS NICOLE KIDMAN YOUR CURRENT ONE?

Nicole is Nicole—she is a movie star. This collection is somewhat inspired by her. But, you know, Nicole belongs to the world. She is one of the beautiful, elegant women of today. But I think this icon thing is a little old. Women don't want to compete with Nicole Kidman. I don't blame them. I want everyone to wear whatever they want and mix it in their own way. That to me is what is modern.

YOU HAVE BEEN IN THIS BUSINESS FOR A LONG TIME. WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING THING THAT HAS HAPPENED IN FASHION?

It's always about the next collection, never about what has happened in the past. The evolution of fashion is parallel to what is going on in the world, but I am not interested in the past. I am interested only in the near future. Six months, six months, six months—that is the way I see life.

ISN'T THAT A RELENTLESS WAY TO LIVE?

For me it is not relentless. I've lived this way my whole life.

FOR A FASHION PERSON, YOU HAVE A WIDE RANGE OF INTERESTS. YOU CAN DISCUSS 16TH CENTURY SPANISH PHILOSOPHY WITH AS MUCH EASE AS YOU DISCUSS HEMLINES.

Like somebody once said, normally people like me do not do this job. But I don't think I'm too good for the job. It's perfect for me.

HOW DO YOU MANAGE ALL THE DIFFERENT COLLECTIONS THAT YOU DESIGN?

It's like I have three heads. And they never overlap. Chanel is very different from my own line. Lagerfeld Gallery is me. Fendi is my vision of the people of the northern part of Europe and what they think is fashion in the modern world, and Chanel is the French version of Chanel. But I don't really analyze it.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO DO THE H&M LINE?

Because I am an opportunist, and H&M is a fashion phenomenon. What I like about it is the idea of doing the most expensive part of the business and the most affordable. I don't say chic, because I hate that expression. The H&M people were trying to find the most visible person in the world, and it turns out that's me. My image is vaguely known all over the world.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST PLEASURE IN LIFE?

Doing what I am doing. I don't call it work. I'm not a stylist in a factory. I'm a free man, and I can do what I want. I can do fashion, photography, publish books. With this kind of freedom, one cannot complain. That doesn't mean I am not serious. I don't do what I'm doing to achieve social status. The next collection has to be good, and the rest—well, I am not interested.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST FEAR?

Being older, you have no fear, really, except maybe bad health or that people I like best have problems. Other than that, I am lucky to be pretty independent. I don't have a very dramatic relationship. I don't need an analyst.

WHO IS THE LIVING DESIGNER YOU MOST ADMIRE?

There are lots of designers who make things that I think are great. In certain careers there are things that I like and others I don't like, but this is a question I cannot answer. For myself I like to wear Hedi Slimane and Thom Browne, and I also love what Libertine is doing.

DO YOU FOLLOW THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN AMERICA RIGHT NOW?

Not really. I am not American, and I'm tired of people who comment on that. Thank God America exists, because without America we would be communists or fascists right now.

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