At some point, I hope one of the major magazines does a highbrow analysis of how Choupette Lagerfeld, a fluffy white kitty, managed to single-handedly change Karl Lagerfeld’s image. Before Choupette, Karl was known as something of a bitter, almost nasty curmudgeon. But when Choupette came into his life – when he was in his late 70s, for goodness sake – suddenly Karl was humanized. People looked at him and said, “Well, he loves that cat, perhaps he’s not such a bad guy after all.” He’s said that Choupette is like a daughter to him. He has hired a full staff (no joke) just to deal with Choupette and to make sure she’s treated like a princess at all times. Anyway, Karl sat down for an interview with New York Magazine and of course they asked him about Choupette. This part of the interview is so good, it’s the only part I want to excerpt.
So what are you going to suck out of New York?
Nothing. I see nothing, I do nothing, I do everything from my room in the Mercer, working at my desk on things with Choupette keeping me company — I don’t force her, by the way. She comes naturally.
Tell me more about Choupette. Has she changed your life?
It’s a miracle in the story. Choupette was not even given to me. Choupette belonged to a friend of mine who asked if my maid could take care of her for two weeks when he was away. When he came back, he was told that Choupette would not return to him. He got another cat who became fat, and Choupette became the most famous cat in the world, and the richest. She did two jobs and made 3 million euros last year. One was for cars in Germany and the other was for a Japanese beauty product. I don’t allow her to do foodstuffs and things like this. She’s too sophisticated for that. She had something unique. She is like a human being, but the good thing is that she’s silent. You don’t have to discuss it. She hates other animals and she hates children. She stays always with me and she has two personal maids. They play with her, they have to take care of her beautiful white hair, the beauty treatments for her eyes, and they entertain her. She is the center of the world. If you saw her, you would understand. She is kind of Greta Garbo. There is something unforgettable about her, the way she moves, the way she plays. She’s an inspiration for elegance. For attitude.
Has she changed you?
Maybe I became a better person perhaps, I don’t know. Less selfish, I guess? I think it’s grotesque, but what can you do? I believe in the unique. This is not just something to keep me company. It’s only great because of the uniqueness of her.
I mean… Choupette made 3 million euros last year. WHAT DID YOU DO? Choupette has standards, she will not promote your human-food, peasant. Choupette hates children. Choupette gets eye treatments. Choupette is everything. But here’s what I love: Karl thinks Choupette is one of kind. And she is, to a certain extent, but let’s be real. If we gave Karl a very pretty kitty from the pound, he would fall in love with that cat too. All cat-moms and cat-dads think their kitties are the most unique and special in the world.
Oh, and there’s this quote from Karl too: “Forget about your folklore. I can take a few inspirations, but I can certainly not do an homage. That’s not my trip. I’m a fashion vampire. I take what I need and I leave the rest.” Perfection.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Choupette’s social media.
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