Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld was born on September 10, 1933, in Hamburg, Germany. He aspired to become a fashion designer from a young age and moved to Paris in 1952. He studied fashion design at the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, run by the Haute Couture Union. Yves Saint-Laurent and Chie Koike, who later became president of Bunka Fashion College, were also students there. He began as an assistant to Pierre Balmain, and at the age of 20, he became artistic director at Jean Patou before going freelance in 1962. He studied art history in Florence, Italy. He was appointed head designer of Chloé in 1963 and designer of Fendi in 1965. At Fendi, he created fur items crafted using his own unique methods and the brand logo, combining two Fs. He left Chloé in 1983 and became a designer at Chanel the same year. In addition to ready-to-wear, he expanded the brand's lines to include watches, bags, and perfumes, and succeeded in significantly increasing the brand's sales, which had been somewhat sluggish.

In 1984, he launched his own brand, "Karl Lagerfeld." In 1986, he won the prestigious Des D'Or Award, the highest honor in haute couture. In 2004, he released a collaborative collection with H&M, and his favorite high-collared shirts were also sold.

Aside from his work as a designer, he is also active as a photographer. He himself photographed the Fendi 2013-14 Autumn/Winter advertising campaign, starring Cara Delevingne and Saskia de Brauw.

He used to be a huge man, dressed in Yohji Yamamoto and his trademark ponytail and fan were his signature looks, but he went on a diet to wear Dior Homme. Since then, he has preferred to wear slim-fit jackets and pants, and Chrome Hearts accessories.

The documentary film "Karl Lagerfeld: The Man Who Creates Fashion" (distributed by Arcineteran), which closely follows his work and private life, is scheduled to be released in Japan on November 16th.