Karl Lagerfeld (1938-2019) - Authentische Chanel Modeskizze XL, signiert, 2014, Maison Lesage

There are drawings that document a craft. And there are drawings that plunge you into the visual world of a genius.

Karl Lagerfeld was not only one of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th and early 21st centuries—he was a obsessed draftsman. Long before a design found its way into the studio, he lived on paper. With pencil, ink, sometimes watercolor. Fast, precise, incorruptible. Lagerfeld drew daily—not as a means to an end, but as an independent artistic practice. His sketches were sought after by collectors, museums, and fashion houses alike, because they showed what finished collections conceal: the immediate moment of the idea.

The subject is a fashion sketch for Fendi's haute couture line, depicting a lady whose body is nearly oriented frontal while the head looks to the right in profile. She is dressed in a short, light gray dress. The dress has a blue neckline, wide, poufy sleeves that terminate with blue cuffs, and is emphasized at the waist by a slender blue band. The skirt falls loosely and ends above the knee. The hair is suggested with sweeping, circular ink strokes as a voluminous updo, and a red accent emphasizes the lips. The arms are slightly angled away from the body. The legs are only faintly drawn and cross the lower red frame, with no shoes detailed.

The line work is in black ink, combined with sparing watercolor fills in delicate gray and skin tones for the figure, and a blue flat color application as shading to the left behind the lady. Red appears in the hand-drawn frame that encloses the motif, as well as in the inscription above: “Fendi” on the left and “HC 2014” on the right, both handwritten in black with red accents. At the bottom right is the characteristic black signature “Karl Lagerfeld.” The work is presented on plain, light paper.

The work comes directly from the renowned Maison Lesage in Pantin, France—and thus from the innermost creative orbit of Chanel. Maison Lesage is no ordinary address. Founded in 1858, since 2002 part of Chanel Métiers d'Art, the house is considered the world's most important embroidery atelier. Generations of couturiers—from Schiaparelli to Balenciaga, from Dior to Saint Laurent—have relied on Lesage. For Lagerfeld, Lesage was a indispensable creative partner for decades: the most elaborate embroideries of the Chanel Haute-Couture collections, season after season, were produced in the Pantin ateliers. No house stood closer to the Chanel cosmos. And this work comes from that house—directly.

On the back of the sheet is the original seal (Ref. KL Fendi 2014/92).

A gallery certificate documenting provenance from Maison Lesage accompanies the work as well.

Comparable drawings with identical and direct Lesage provenance have been offered at major international auction houses with estimated prices of USD 10,000–15,000. The present work is further distinguished by its exceptional coloristic quality—the warm watercolor wash and the sharp two-tone between black ink and red accents set it apart from the majority of comparable, purely graphic pencil sketches.

For collectors who want to keep close to Chanel's universe, the Lagerfeld era's aesthetics, or the history of Haute Couture—the sketch is a rare document from the heart of this world.

+++ Details about the work & shipping +++

Artist: Atelier Maison Lesage, Karl Lagerfeld (German, 1933–2019)

Title: KL Fendi 2014/92 - Fashion Sketch

Year: 2014

Technique: Mixed media on paper (ink, watercolor)

Sheet size: approx. 42 × 28 cm (approx. A3 sketch format)

Signature: Signed “Karl Lagerfeld,” lower right.

Provenance: Directly acquired from Maison Lesage, 20 Rue du Cheval Blanc, 93500 Pantin, France · Gallery certificate of provenance

Condition: Very good. The sheet shows minimal, atelier-immanent creases that were already present during the creation at Maison Lesage and do not constitute post-transport damage. No foxing, no color loss, no restorations.

Shipping: The work will be shipped unframed and carefully packed.