Karl Lagerfeld is going full da Vinci with his multiple artistic ventures — and killing it every time. The creative director of Chanel, Fendi and his eponymous brand, and accomplished photographer now has his first sculpture exhibition at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris.
Titled “Architectures,” the exhibit was inspired by antiquity, a period that represents the origin of beauty, culture and modernity for Lagerfeld. Coinciding with his theme, the sculptures are made of two rare marbles. One is Arabescato Fantastico, a key feature of it is its whiteness with dark gray veins, obtained from a quarry that has been untouched for 30 years. The second is a black marble with white veins called Nero Marquina.
Lagerfeld hired the best Italian artisans to hand carve the marble and make Lagerfeld’s vision a reality. It was also further developed by Aline Asmar d’Amman, a French-Lebanese architect and interior designer.
“Working with Karl Lagerfeld is an immense privilege, not only because he’s the design maverick with multifaceted talent in every creative field but also because his knowledge is cross-disciplinary,” d’Amman says. For d’Amman, witnessing his expansive bank of references open up in the design process is akin to speedy time travel. “You learn about every period from antiquity, to the 18th century, to modernism or contemporary design,” she adds. “Of course, with lots of humor and amusing insider stories.”
Check out Lagerfeld’s exhibit at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery from October 19 through December 22.
