By Alyssa Boddicker
Uncle Karl has had a lot of muses since his start as the head of prestigious fashion house, Chanel. From blond bombshells to boyish charmers, the muses of Karl Lagerfeld vast and plenty, so we decided to put together a chronological guide to who’s who, as well as what’s next in the world of Karl’s Krew.
Inés de la Fressange
The original and most iconic muse for Karl has to be Inés de la Fressange. Starting all the way at the beginning of his career as the head of the Chanel fashion house, the duo defined Parisian style on runways and magazines everywhere until they had a falling out in 1989. Don’t fret though, the two buried the hatchet and Inés returned to the Chanel runway looking Parisian as ever on the 2011 Spring runway, killing it at age 51.
Claudia Schiffer
After the falling out of Karl and Inés in 1989, Claudia Schiffer was there to slide into the picture, where she sexed up the brand with her Guess girl flare and added some blond ambition to the Parisian brand. Maybe it was because Karl could relate to the model’s transition from Germany to Paris that Karl became a mentor for the model in the 80’s, or maybe it was that the Chanel brand needed a change of pace from the traditional French style, Claudia Schiffer was definitely a muse that changed Karl and the Chanel as a brand.
Cara Delevingne
Cara Delevingne is arguably the most well loved of Karl’s models in the past 15 years. Having opened 5 different Chanel shows, as well as starred in countless campaigns, Cara and Karl have a special bond that one could only describe as muse and artist but more importantly, friends. Seen almost as part of the Lagerfeld family ,closing shows hand in hand with either Karl’s godson Hudson, or Karl himself, Cara holds a special place in the heart of Chanel’s head designer. It’s not just anyone who even gets an invite for her dog during the latest Chanel show, only muses get that right.
Hudson Kroenig
Child model extraordinaire (as well as Karl Lagerfeld’s actual godson) at the ripe age 7, Hudson Kroenig has more prestigious fashion shows under his belt than models three times his age dream about. Starting his career at age 2 walking the 2011 Chanel Spring fashion show hand in hand with his father, model Brad Kroenig (another one of Lagerfeld’s favorites). Since then he has became the focus of many a runway show, as well as ad campaign starring opposite Cara Delevingne and Pharell. Maybe not quite muse status yet, Hudson continues to wow the fashion world with his professionalism and charm that is due to ensure him a long career in fashion.
Kendall Jenner
Part of the next generation of Karl’s Krew, Kendall Jenner made her Chanel debut in ’14, and has been a follower of Karl and Chanel ever since. The model gained some major loyalty points last year when she chose to walk for Chanel instead of Victoria Secret Fashion Show, which she would walk the very next year. Kendall also showed the ultimate ode to her model mentor when she dressed up well as the head of the Chanel fashion house for Halloween, complete with her friend being Karl’s infamous cat Choupette. We also thought it was only fitting to spell Krew with a ‘K’ when there’s a Kardashian (well, Jenner…close enough) in the mix.
Willow Smith
Karl’s newest muse comes at a time where androgynous models are all the rage. With her brother, Jaden, becoming a model for the female line of Louis Vuitton, it’s Willow Smith‘s turn to rep a fashion house. “Thank you Karl Lagerfeld and the entire team at Chanel for expanding the perceptions of ‘beauty’ by picking me to be the new Chanel ambassador, I am honored” she said in her Instagram featuring herself and Karl Lagerfeld. We are hoping to see a lot more of her either in Chanel print adds or on the S/S17 runway.
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