Long before Karl Lagerfeld opened the doors of a fashion house under his own name in 1984 he was the head designer at Jean Patou, Fendi, Chloe and most famously, Chanel. A contemporary of Yves Saint Laurent, Lagerfeld found great success working as a freelance designer through the 60s and 70s and saw the potential in ready-to-wear while most couture houses ignored the changing of the times. His namesake line was the final frontier for the designer known as Emperor Karl and with it he is able to design collections free from historical constraints.