Karl Lagerfeld on Coco Chanel: 'She Would Have Hated My Work'

Karl Lagerfeld admits Coco Chanel would hate what he has done with her brand. Photo: Getty Images

When Karl Lagerfeld took the reigns of Chanel in 1983 he singlehandedly guided the brand into the future and maintaining it's position as one of the world's most successful brands.

But even King Karl admits that it's iconic founder, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel would have hated what he's done with it.

"She would have hated (my work)," the 82-year-old German-born designer said of his predecessor at a preview of Chanel's 'Mademoiselle Prive' exhibition.

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"In the end, she hated blue jeans and she hated mini skirts. And if you start being against the fashion of the time, you have a problem," he added.

"That gave her a little untrendy image. So when I took over, everyone was like, 'Don't touch it.' So I thought it was an interesting challenge but I never expected it to become that great and that famous again. It's unbelievable.

"But also, we live in a world with another kind of communication. The media and all that are so different today that you cannot compare her time with our time."

"I've not asked myself this question. And I'm still not in the bin," he said, adding that he had an "agreement for life" with Chanel.

The exhibition offers "a journey through the origins of Chanel's creations", capturing the "charismatic personality and irreverent spirit" of both Chanel and Lagerfeld.

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Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel pictured in 1932. Photo: Getty Images

"It's a way for us to show the brand's creativity and to show the point at which this creativity allows the brand to uphold its development," Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel's president of fashion, told AFP.

The exhibition also includes a film depicting a meeting between Chanel, (played by Geraldine Chaplin), and Lagerfeld, whom she questions about his role at the fashion label.

"I am keeping you alive," he tells her.