Karl Lagerfeld was one of the world's premier fashion designers who rose to international fame in the 1980s, as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel.  He was also the creative director of Fendi and had his own fashion label.  Early in his career, he was the assistant to Pierre Balmain and became the creative director of Jean Patou in 1958.  He collaborated with many high end fashion labels such as Krizia, Charles Jourdan, Chloe and Valentino.