Karl Lagerfeld is a tastemaker extraordinaire and if you were wondering where Karl likes to sleep, eat, shop and play, now you can follow in his footsteps. Lagerfeld lists his favorite places in Paris, St. Tropez and Monaco. Start your checklist now – maybe if you’re lucky you’ll see Uncle Karl at one of these places…

Paris

Restaurants

La Société
“We needed a new place in Saint-Germain, the brothers Costes created it and Alex runs it to perfection.”

Orient Extrême
“You can eat outside when the weather is nice, and it’s just the ideal food for me! ”

La Maison du Caviar
“If you love caviar (which I do), do not bother to go elsewhere. But the crab and salmon are also unique. People also love cheesecake and strudel (I am not entitled to these wonders). George and his team make it a unique place, very Champs Elysees … in the best sense. ”

Café de Flore
“Without the Flore, Saint-Germain would not (or anymore) be Saint Germain. This is THE most excellent left bank café.”

Nightlife

The VIP Room
“This is my nightclub in Paris (as in Saint-Tropez) and I love the restaurant and its decor. Jean Roch knows his job … and friends … ”

Shopping

Colette
“Because of Mme Colette, whom I admire, and her daughter Sarah. This is shopping as an art form. You are so well received here, and you can feel the current wave of fashion, music and other objects. ”

Le Bon Marché
“The name is ironic, but considering the quality of what they sell, it is effectively good value. ”

Lachaume
“Since the lovely Caroline and her sister took over after their grandmother, the flowers are even more beautiful. ”

Saint Tropez

Restaurants

Sénéquier
“It’s the heart of Saint-Tropez. I like it even more since the Chanel fashion show we held there. ”

The VIP Room and its restaurant La Gioia
“It’s Saint Tropez in the evening and night. Dining out in the garden is a dream. The food is everything I love: simple. But it’s also my favorite club, especially when Double A (Alexandre Arnault) is DJ! And this is where Baptiste Giabiconi (model discovered by KL – ed.) made a splash this summer with his first song which is not even out yet on the market! ”

Le Quai Joseph
“The place to be. ”

The Banh-Hoi
“My favorite restaurant after La Gioia of my friend Jean Roch. But the Banh Hoi-has a unique cuisine. And I love dining out in that narrow street with little traffic. ”

Le Club 55
“A classic, but I love the restaurant, its ambience and friendly boss.

Parfum

Trupheme
“Ideal in the genre, the staff is aware of everything. And you can find everything there. ”

Hotel

La Réserve
“Especially the spa, gym – which are always adored by my guests – and the restaurant: this is an ideal place. Perfection! It is at a hundred meters from the house that I rent in this divine enclosure. I’m perfectly happy and safe. It’s Fort Knox! ”

Monaco

Restaurants

Yoshi
“The restaurant of the Hotel Metropole which is, for me, the best Japanese on the Riviera. By Robuchon. ”

La Vigie
“The table of the Monte Carlo Beach: for me, it represents Monte Carlo. Moreover, in this place, I love everything: the Monte Carlo Beach, the pool, the hotel, the cabins … ”

Le Grill
“The panoramic restaurant on the top floor of the Hotel de Paris: the view here is magnificent. ”

Rampoldi
“The ‘Lipp’ of Monaco, with on top of that the kindness of the boss. ”

Flowers

Sorasio
“Because of the flowers, but also the lovely owner, Danielle Carlesi. ”

Source

Where Chanel goes, KARL by Karl Lagerfeld follows.  First Lagerfeld opened a pop-up shop in St. Tropez for the summer (as did Chanel) and now the KARL brand will pop-up at Selfridges in London just in time for the Olympics (Chanel will have a free-standing pop-up at Covent Garden).

Karl Lagerfeld designed a capsule collection for the event called “Team Karl” and will be sold in a pop-up space on the third floor of Selfridges in the contemporary women’s department.  The collection includes t-shirts designed by the I Love Dust agency including one with the graphic above showing Karl Lagerfeld preparing to throw a discus.  Selfridges will also launch the KARL Fall 2012 collection as well as the first Karl Lagerfeld Paris Man collection.

If you’re in London you should definitely check out the space. Uncle Karl himself will make a personal appearance for the opening on the 24th.

Source: WWD

“The smell of a freshly printed book is the best smell in the world.”
Karl Lagerfeld

Back in April 2011, I mentioned that there were rumors online about Karl Lagerfeld working on a fragrance that smelled like books – that were refuted as soon as they came out. Well, with time the truth has come to light. While Karl Lagerfeld did not create the scent, he did have a hand in Paper Passion.

Paper Passion is a fragrance by Geza Schoen, Gerhard Steidl, and Wallpaper* magazine, with packaging by Karl Lagerfeld and Steidl.  As stated on the Steidl website:

This tells the story of a passion and a twisting plot to put the particular bouquet of freshly printed books in a bottle. Gerhard Steidl was first alerted to the importance of the smell of a book by Karl Lagerfeld, prompting a passion for paper and the composition of a scent on the pages of a book. To Wallpaper* magazine the pairing of the publisher with the perfumer seemed a natural partnership and so the idea for Paper Passion was born. Wallpaper* Magazine commissioned master perfumer Geza Schoen to create a fragrance based on the smell of books to be part of the Wallpaper* magazine Handmade exhibition in Milan.

I can’t wait to get a whiff of Paper Passion – I know what  new book smells like but I’m curious to see how that translates into a fragrance.  I especially love the packaging!  It reminds me of something James Bond would have in his library.  I just pre-ordered my “copy” of Paper Passion.  Paper Passion is available for pre-order now on Amazon.com.

For Holiday 2012, Karl Lagerfeld is teaming up with Shu Uemura to create a capsule collection called Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura.  Lagerfeld has long been a fan of Shu Uemura as he uses the pressed eye shadows to hand-color his infamous illustrations.

Karl Lagerfeld stated:

I love sketching in the morning…When I go to sleep I always put my pens and papers next to my bed. I use Shu Uemura shadows to sketch, since they are such fantastic colours. I design with Shu Uemura make-up because other manufacturers do not offer such beautiful colors. (Pursuitist)

Lagerfeld will select colors and packaging and he’s already shot the campaign and will reflect his “iconic, ironic style.” (WWD)  The line will release in November but will make it’s preview to the trade in September.  You can expect to find the Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura collection at over 400 Shu Uemura locations world wide.

Sources: WWD and Pursuitist

To celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, VOGUE jewellery editor Carol Woolton is curating a diamond exhibition called “Brilliant”. Karl Lagerfeld designed a one-of-a-kind black leather collar with 40 carats of black diamonds and a 22.33-carat emerald set in black rhodium-plated silver for the exhibition that is valued at $45,000. Lagerfeld told Vogue UK:

I’m renowned for my love of a high collar and I wanted to create a true collector’s item with this one-off piece…Merging the masculine with the feminine and uniting the world of fine jewellery and high fashion, to me this collar is a work of art and a real show-stopper.

Lagerfeld also signed a sketch he drew of the collar and the sketch will be exhibited along side the collar at the Royal Hospital from June 27 through July 4.