Karl Lagerfeld is not one for nostalgia.
Yes, the German-born designer chose a historic Art Deco hotel for the hot-ticket debut of his Cruise '08-'09 collection for Chanel on Thursday night. But this, he said, has nothing to do with holding onto the past.
Au contraire.
Lagerfeld sat in a long room at the top of the Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach, calling out directions to models, things like, ``c'est beau, c¸a'' -- that looks good.
His touch for making the finest clothes resoundingly contemporary inspires a cultlike following. He always wears dark glasses, Mount Everest collars and racing gloves. When he speaks, it's quietly, his accent a German-French cocktail.
We asked the septuagenarian maestro to remove his glasses for a photo. He inched them down his nose momentarily and smiled, before pushing them back in place.
The Raleigh is a nostalgic place. You are notoriously anti-nostalgic.
``I see it as an American tradition in the best sense of what America was about. The old Hollywood thing. But there is no nostalgie, eh?''
Do you stay at the Raleigh?
``Yes, I stay in the Esther Williams suite.
``As I child I was a fan of the Esther Williams movies. Nothing can be brought back. But you can take an inspiration and make something different of today out of it.''
Why debut this collection in Miami?
``I like the idea that we do the couture in Paris
so I like to take the Cruise collection on the road.
Like a folk singer, on the road.''
You are remarkably grounded in the present. What shaped your perspective?
``People like Spinoza and Bergson. My favorite line from Spinoza is: Every decision is refusal.''
You collect iPods. What's on them now?
``For the moment, my favorite song is
Good Night, Bad Morning by The Kills.
Do you text-message?
``Oh, no, I don't do that. I have no cellphone.
I fax. I am sketching, reading, writing.
After 25 years at Chanel, is it still fun?
`` I am not blasé and I am not bored. I think I'm pretty lucky that I can do the job I'm doing with divine conditions and no problems, all over the world. I think I'm very lucky.''
For more on Lagerfeld and the Miami show, see Wednesday's Tropical Life: Style.
-- KATHRYN WEXLER
