Karl Lagerfeld Once Helped a Little Girl Dress Up As a Box! Story of Chanel Creative Director’s Kindness Goes Viral

Chanel Creative Director Karl Largerfeld’s death sent shockwaves through the world. One of the biggest names in fashion, Karl died at the age of 85 in Paris after serving as one of the longest CD of the Parisian fashion house. Tributes have been pouring in for the stalwart from the who’s who of the glamour industry ever since the news of his demise came out. But among these is a little-known personal story from a journalist, which showed the softer side of the German fashion designer. The journo Svenja O'Donnell shared a series of tweets that spoke of her meeting with Karl when she was a 7-year-old living in Paris. Recognising her rebellious streak even at that age, Karl helped her dress up for an uppity party as a box!

According to O’Donnell, she was invited to a birthday party in one of Paris’s “chicest” neighbourhood. The theme of the party was fancy dress. And in Paris, she writes, everybody takes fashion seriously and tends to get competitive about dressing up from a very young age.

O’Donnell’s mother was no less, fussing over the perfect dress for her daughter. But her 7-year-old tomboy self had other things in mind. Instead of opting for the frou-frou Chloe dress picked out by her aunt, she insisted on going to the party dressed as – out of all the things – a box! Karl Lagerfeld Passes Away: Priyanka Chopra Pays Respect to Chanel Creative Director with This Tweet.

Shocked by her “monstrous ingratitude,” her aunt, who worked for Karl, sent her to his office, hoping he would drill some sense into her.

Even though he was an international designer who was pressed for time, he indulged the 7-year-old, treating her no differently than he would have handled a client. “Most busy, high flying people in this situation would probably have told me not to be a brat, but he did no such thing,” she tweets.

He got up from his desk, sat down on the floor beside her and asked her what she wanted to wear. On hearing that she wanted to wear a box instead of a Chloe dress, Karl clapped his hands together and said “A wonderful idea!”

The endearing story spoke how a man of Karl’s stature indulged the 7-year-old, recognising her rebelliousness.

Here are her tweets:

I have a very fond memory of @karllagerfeld which I’d like to share.

As a child, I was invited to a 7th birthday party in one of Paris’s chicest neighbourhoods. The theme was fancy dress. Now, Paris is a place where people start dressing competitively from their infancy.

— Svenja O'Donnell (@SvenjaODonnell) February 19, 2019

Choosing an outfit was no light-hearted matter; my mother fretted over it for days. My godmother, who was then working for Karl, whom she had known for many years, offered to help. She soon produced a beautiful yellow silk princess dress, sourced from offcuts from Chloe.

— Svenja O'Donnell (@SvenjaODonnell) February 19, 2019

It was yellow, with jewels sewn into the edges of the collar and very beautiful. The problem was that, aged 7, I was a complete tomboy. I flatly refused to wear it. You see, I’d already set my heart on my outfit. I was going to go to this party dressed as a box.

— Svenja O'Donnell (@SvenjaODonnell) February 19, 2019

I’m not entirely sure how the idea of the box came about. But when I was presented with my princess dress at my godmother’s workplace, I started to cry.

— Svenja O'Donnell (@SvenjaODonnell) February 19, 2019

Faced with such monstrous ingratitude, my godmother calmly suggested I step in to Karl Lagerfeld’s office, so he could explain why I should not pass up the chance, aged 7, to wear a Chloe-designed princess dress.

— Svenja O'Donnell (@SvenjaODonnell) February 19, 2019

Most busy, high flying people in this situation would probably have told me not to be brat, but he did no such thing.

Instead, Karl got up from his desk and came to sit down on the floor beside me. He asked what I wanted to wear.

“A box,” I said mutinously.

— Svenja O'Donnell (@SvenjaODonnell) February 19, 2019

He sprang up and clapped his hands. “A wonderful idea!” he replied, beaming, and he really meant it. Within minutes, he’d got his assistant to bring a selection of boxes from the storeroom. We found one big enough to cover me and he helped me cut out holes for my head and arms.

— Svenja O'Donnell (@SvenjaODonnell) February 19, 2019

I still remember what it looked like: it had a Lagerfeld fan on the front. We completed the outfit with a pair of red socks and white trainers.

— Svenja O'Donnell (@SvenjaODonnell) February 19, 2019

I’ll always it as the day one of the world’s greatest designers, himself no stranger to tantrums, took an hour of his time to indulge the creativity of a child. It still gives me the courage, thirty years later, to have confidence in my ideas. Thanks again Karl; the box was a hit

— Svenja O'Donnell (@SvenjaODonnell) February 19, 2019

O’Donnell writes how the man who was no stranger to client tantrums, took an hour out of his time just to give her exactly what she wanted. She reveals that the incident instilled confidence in her to have faith in her own ideas, all thanks to one of the greatest names in the fashion of all times.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 20, 2019 01:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).