Designer Guys

Over the past few days I've had the opportunity to get into the heads of some of (capital-F) Fashion's most famous and well-know (and, note above pic, eccentric) Designers, Karl Lagerfeld and Calvin Klein.

Lagerfeld is someone I've always thought, as an often fashion-backward person, to be a bit of a loonie to be honest. With his ubiquitous shades and an oft-silent intimidating presence, Lagerfeld outwardly personifies the world of Couture-flamboyant, dramatic, and most of all expensive. An extensive interview with (as you know, my fave) Charlie Rose changed a lot of my impressions on him though-yes, he can be aloof and pretentious, but is no nut by any stretch-and if anything, remains more relevant and ahead of Fashion than others half his 74 years could ever hope to be.

Another icon himself, Klein was subject to a massive recent feature in Vanity Fair, and writer Ingrid Sischy spares no expense of detail to compose a portrait of his eras, both personal and business (the two are basically inseparable-up until his sale of the company a fews ago). Klein's life has had no shortage of drama, with his daughter once getting kidnapped(!), to his ongoing hits and busts that followed his career in fashion.

What's interesting is that both Lagerfeld and Klein have found great success in the same industry with completely different image sets and levels of charisma.