Throughout his illustrious career, the late Karl Lagerfeld amassed an impressive portfolio of distinctive properties. Recent monograph Karl Lagerfeld A life in housespublished by Thames & Hudson, explores this vast collection: everything from the overcrowded Memphis apartment in Monte Carlo to the opulent eighteenth-century Hôtel Pozzo di Borgo in Paris. Regardless of direction, the respected fashion designer has always unabashedly combined the old with the new, shedding new light on various historical design movements and their most important pioneers. Most of these houses have been the subject of extensive magazine print and tabloid front page fodder, but little attention has ever been paid to his workplaces.
That all changed with the recent unveiling and remodeling of Lagerfeld’s private office in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Platform for renting luxury apartments and houses HIGHSTAY he has deftly, but carefully, converted the multi-level office into two bedrooms Saint Germain I accommodation filled with original architectural features and collectibles. This period room is a time capsule, preserved in exactly the same configuration as the day the legendary talent left for the last time. Away from the big couture houses he organized until his death in 2019, the space was a more intimate retreat. a stylistic reflection of himself in which he could conduct private business and entertain close friends.
While unmistakably indicative of a particular era in design history – not revealed but easily deciphered as the late 1990s and early 2000s – the massive 2,690 square foot unit unfolds with sleek, space-integrated contours on curvilinear half-polished, half-patinated steel surfaces. Even in this once-contemporary setting – somewhat timeless and flawless once more – Lagerfeld still exuded a degree of opulence, albeit slightly restrained in overall shape.
The almost palatial staircase was custom designed by him in collaboration with leading Australian product designer Mark Newson. The sculpture “La tête dans les nuages” (Head in the Clouds) standing on its base was created by the artist Laurence Perratzi.
In one of the adjacent living rooms, high mirrored ceilings broaden the visual perspective of twin steel bookcases – articulated in the same formal vocabulary – described above – as a custom bed frame. Normally intense material that evokes a level of cold industrial conformity was rendered in warm, corporeal form here. Separated into the more intimate closets and bars, the dark-toned wood paneling brings out a grounding contrast.
This matrix of a hybrid complex – an urban retreat with private hammam and sauna – also includes a second bedroom with en-suite bathroom, separate dining room and other annexes. There is a visual consistency of capsule and pixel elements – suggesting a more sophisticated interpretation of early digital patterns.
Complementing the hard product is a curated integration of the Karl Itinerary that stops at the Couturier’s favorite haunts on the Left Bank, including Café de Flore and Maison du Caviar.
What: Saint Germain I
Where: Paris, France
How many: price on request
Design drawings: Karl Lagerfeld’s lesser-known private office has been immaculately preserved as a two-bedroom rental apartment with a sleek metal capsule and pixelated details throughout.
Make a reservation: Saint Germain I
Go on virtual vacation with more design destinations here.
Photo courtesy of HIGHSTAY
