Portrait of Karl Lagerfeld

Birthday profile

Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld, German-French fashion designer and photographer (died 2019)

Born
September 10, 1933
Died
February 19, 2019
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1933

About Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Otto Lagerfeld, also called Kaiser Karl, (German: [kaʁl ˈʔɔtoː ˈlaːɡɐˌfɛlt]; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, photographer, and creative director. Lagerfeld began his career in fashion in the 1950s, working for several top fashion houses including Balmain, Patou, and Chloé before joining Chanel in 1983. As the creative director of Chanel from 1983 until his death, he oversaw every aspect of the fashion house's creative output, from designing collections to photographing advertising campaigns and arranging store displays. He was instrumental in revitalizing the Chanel brand, helping it regain its position as one of the top fashion houses in the world. He was also creative director of the Italian fur and leather goods fashion house Fendi, as well as his own eponymous fashion label. Throughout his career, he collaborated on numerous fashion, design, and art-related projects, and his photography was exhibited in galleries and collected in published volumes. Lagerfeld was recognised for his signature white hair, black sunglasses, fingerless gloves, and high-starched detachable collars. Lagerfeld had an older half-sister, Theodora Dorothea "Thea", from his father's first marriage. In 1955, Lagerfeld entered another IWS competition and won in the coat category. In 1957, Lagerfeld became the artistic director for Jean Patou.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Karl Lagerfeld timeline

  1. In 1955, Lagerfeld entered another IWS competition and won in the coat category.
  2. In 1957, Lagerfeld became the artistic director for Jean Patou.

The world when Karl Lagerfeld was born

Karl Lagerfeld was born in 1933. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1933

  • #1 song"Stormy Weather" – Ethel Waters
  • Top movieKing Kong
  • Best-selling bookLost Horizon – James Hilton

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst MLB All-Star Game played at Comiskey Park
  • Top headlineAdolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
  • Technology milestoneFM radio patented by Edwin Armstrong
  • Defining fadChain letters
  • Notable inventionFM radio
  • World population2.17 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Giants (World Series)
  • U.S. population125.6M

1933 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Karl Lagerfeld's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19332026
Gas$0.18$3.45/gal
Average home$4,800$435,000
Average income$2,300$67,500
Minimum wage$0.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.20$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population125.6M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.