Draft:Karl Lagerfeld (brand)

Karl Lagerfeld BV (stylised KARL LAGERFELD) is the eponymous fashion brand founded by designer Karl Lagerfeld in 1984 and known for its ready-to-wear apparel and collaborations with other brands and individuals. The Karl Lagerfeld brand has been wholly owned by G-III Apparel Group since 2022.

History
The apparel brand was launched in 1984 by designer Karl Lagerfeld. The previous year, Lagerfeld had signed an agreement with Bidermann Industries USA, giving them ownership and licensing rights to fashion labels he produced. Lagerfeld ended the agreement with Bindermann in 1989. That same year, Lagerfeld launched two Karl Lagerfeld brand menswear lines, with a higher price point line produced by the Italian menswear manufacturer Corneliani and a more moderately priced KL by Karl Lagerfeld line with Germany's Steilmann.

The Lagerfeld label was then purchased by the Cora Revillon Group, which had previously reached an agreement to manufacture and market Karl Lagerfeld-branded products.

In 1992, Dunhill Holdings—part of the Vendôme Luxury Group—acquired the Karl Lagerfeld brand from Cora-Revillon for an estimated $30 million. The acquisition was part of the agreement Vendôme made with Lagerfeld for him to return to designing for the fashion house Chloé. Vendôme retained ownership of the brand for five years, until 1997, when it sold the brand back to Lagerfeld for a "symbolic one franc", following the end of his contract with Chloé. Lagerfeld stated that Vendôme “had not hired the right people to manage it."

In 1998 Lagerfeld relaunched his eponymous label under the name Lagerfeld Gallery. The next year the Gallery brand released a ready-to-wear womenswear and accessories line. By 2001, Lagerfeld had opened two Lagerfeld Gallery stores for his name brand in Paris and Monaco. In 2004, Women's Wear Daily noted that Lagerfeld had sharpened his Gallery line by "infusing it with a clear identity and a more personal sensibility, rather than jumping on fickle trends."

In December 2004, Lagerfeld and Tommy Hilfiger announced that the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation had agreed to buy Lagerfeld's eponymous collections. The move represented Hilfiger's first European fashion label acquisition,

The company presented a runway show during Paris Fashion Week in 2009, and Interview magazine noted that "the brand has served as a playground for Lagerfeld’s wilder fashion instincts".

In 2011, the private equity firm Apax acquired a majority stake in the Karl Lagerfeld brand. The same year, Pier Paolo Righi joined the brand as CEO and the brand changed its model to focus on the online market for "affordable luxury". With financial backing from Apax, the brand launched a new moderately priced fashion line to be sold online exclusively via Net-a-Porter and aimed at gaining a share of the internet retail market. In 2013, the brand opened its first brick-and-mortar store on Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris.

In 2016, G-III Apparel Group acquired a 19% stake in the Karl Lagerfeld Group and secured a licensing partnership. Later that year G-III launched the Karl Lagerfeld Paris brand in North America.

On February 19, 2019, Karl Lagerfeld died in Paris. His work for his own brand was included in the career retrospective display at the "Karl For Ever" memorial event held at the Grand Palais.

In 2022, G-III acquired the remaining shares in the brand from its other investors to become the brand's sole owner.

Ahead of the 2023 Met Gala's celebration of Karl Lagerfeld's life, The New York Times wrote that "Lagerfeld the brand reflected his personal style more closely than any of his other brands. Imagine rock ’n’ roll tailoring with a Teutonic edge, filtered through a monochromatic lens, and you’ll get the idea."

Operations
The Karl Lagerfeld brand was established as a separate entity from Karl Lagerfeld's work with Chanel, Fendi, and other prominent fashion houses. The brand encompasses the fashion lines and products branded with Karl Lagerfeld's name, including women's and men's ready-to-wear clothing and leisure wear, denim, footwear, underwear, accessories, and jewelry. It also includes perfume, eyewear, hospitality, and children's clothing. Ownership of the brand and related licensing rights have changed over time. Since 2022, the brand has been wholly owned by G-III Apparel Group, and operates as a Dutch limited liability company under the business name Karl Lagerfeld BV. The company has approximately 200 stores globally, in addition to selling apparel via multi-brand retailers and on its own website.

Karl Lagerfeld BV's two headquarters are in Paris on Rue Saint-Guillaume and in Amsterdam, where it opened a new headquarters office in 2020 in a historic Herengracht canal house. As of 2021, it had approximately 1000 staff members, including 500 employees and 500 venture and franchise partner employees. Pier Paolo Righi has been the company's CEO since 2011. The brand's leadership includes Caroline Lebar, SVP of image and communications and Hun Kim, design director. Lagerfeld's former bodyguard and personal assistant, is an ambassador and menswear consultant for the brand.

Karl Lagerfeld BV has collaborated with other brands on makeup lines and other products. The company also maintains licensing partnerships for eyewear, fragrance, watches, and jewelry. Karl Lagerfeld BV has invested in hospitality projects, and to help manage these the brand established a hospitality subsidiary, Karl Lagerfeld Hospitality BV. In 2023, the brand opened The Karl Lagerfeld Macau in the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort as the first Karl Lagerfeld branded hotel.

Collaborations
Karl Lagerfeld was well known for his collaborations with brands and individuals. His H&M collaboration in 2004, the first ever designer collaboration for the retailer, set up the Karl Lagerfeld brand's relaunch in 2012. Karl Lagerfeld BV has sustained the designer's penchant for collaborations and diverse projects.

The brand has launched collections designed in collaboration with Kaia Gerber in 2018, Olivia Palermo in 2019, and Cara Delevingne in 2022. The model Amber Valletta is the brand's sustainability ambassador and has launched multiple collections of sustainable clothing and accessories with Karl Lagerfeld as of 2023.

Karl Lagerfeld BV partnered with ModelCo, an Australian beauty company, to launch a line of cosmetics in 2018. In 2019, the brand launched a make-up collection with L’Orèal Paris that was inspired by Lagerfeld's "rock chic" style. The ad campaign featured numerous celebrities, including Helen Mirren, Doutzen Kroes, Liya Kebede, Luma Grothe, Louise Bourgoin, and Soo Joo Park. That same year, collaborated with the Karl Lagerfeld brand on a genderless collection based on African imagery.

In 2017, the brand launched a collection with Vans, the clothing, footwear, and accessories were all designed in black and white. The Vans x Karl Lagerfeld line also included items featuring Lagerfeld's silhouette. In 2018, the brand worked with Puma to design a capsule collection of sneakers and streetwear. In 2023, The Walt Disney Company collaborated with the brand on a line of clothing featuring Donald Duck, based on a sketch of the character that Lagerfeld had drawn in 2004.

Karl Lagerfeld BV has also collaborated on branded products with Agusta, Barbie, Christofle, Endless, Faber-Castell, S. T. Dupont, Sogo & Seibu, Shu Uemura, Steiff, Swarovski, Tokidoki, and Toyota.