The colorful Macao has left the brilli billi in the closet to dress in rigorous black and white glamor and pay homage to the figure of Karl Lagerfeld in one of her latest projects, the hotel that bears her name in the special administrative region of China, formerly Portuguese colony. The Karl Lagerfeld is a colossal and precious project in keeping with the charisma of the designer who turned the three houses he led —Chloé, Fendi and Chanel— upside down to bring them into the 21st century.
Lagerfeld was never an ordinary fashion creator, but a trailblazer, a charismatic image guru with an uncanny ability to set trends thanks to his vast culture and multiple creative interests, from photography to design to architecture. And this posthumous and personal work is a faithful reflection of his polyhedral soul, which he never saw or even started.
At The Karl Lagerfeld Hotel, the designer, who died in 2019, wanted to capture the meeting between China and the West. And among those in attendance at his rock-chic grand opening party were a cross section of guests from both worlds, who gathered to toast the designer’s legacy last Saturday in the hotel lobby. As a backdrop, the Karl Kameo mural, made with more than a thousand red keys that form the recognizable profile of the fashion creator.
Heading the VIP list was the Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh (Everything at the same time everywhere), who raised the fury of the fans grouped in front of the hotel when she naturally and without any air of a diva approached to greet them. The actress, model and singer-songwriter Lou Doillon, daughter of Jane Birkin, sister of Charlotte Gainsbourg, and one of the designer’s muses, also attended, with her perfect style between masculine and feminine.
Other celebrities present at the grand opening included the Chinese actress and singer Li YiTong, the Californian musician James Lee; American-Taiwanese rapper, singer, dancer and model Mark Tuan, leader of the South Korean boyband GOT7, and Korean actor Ji Chang-Wook. The musical section of the evening was given by the Thai singer Kunpimook Bhuwakul, known as BamBam and member of the K-pop band Got7, who offered a performance with his body of dancers clad in tracksuit fashion. Behind him, Soo Joo Park, the Korean-American supermodel and the first Asian to be an ambassador for L’Oréal, served as a glamorous DJ.
Shun Tak Holdings Chairman Pansy Ho also attended the gala, along with many other business leaders and government officials, including Vice President of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Ho Hau Wahel and Secretary of Administration and Justice , Cheong Weng Chon. Choupette the cat, Lagerfeld’s inseparable companion, was also on the big day, yes, transformed into a large stuffed animal that welcomed The Grand Pavilion, where the party was held after the inaugural toast.
Of course, at the grand gala conceived in Lagerfeld’s fetish colors, there was no shortage of Hun Kim, the firm’s design director; Caroline Lebar, who for 36 years was, more than the head of image and communication at the Karl Lagerfeld firm, her right hand. Or Sebastien Jondeau, the designer’s bodyguard and personal assistant, but also a model for his brand, who dressed his tribute in a jacket with the head of the fashion kaiser printed on the back, seen from behind, with his iconic white ponytail.
The Karl Lagerfeld, the work on which the famous couturier has been working since 2014, has become the latest legacy of the kaiser of fashion, a five-star hotel that fuses fashion, luxury and art from classical China, the art deco and details taken from the Palace of Versailles, which he admired so much.
In her opening remarks, Daisy Ho, President and CEO of SJM Holdings, which owns the store, said, “Lagerfeld worked closely with us to create and nurture every element of Karl Lagerfeld Macao. The interpretation of Europe meets China sums up the very essence of Macao’s history between East and West”.
For his part, Pier Paolo Righi, CEO of The Karl Lagerfeld Hotel, said: “Karl often spoke about his fascination with Chinese culture and art. In this concept, he has combined elements of the East and the West to make it his own unique style, design and creative expression. I can say without a doubt that he would have loved to be here with us today to see it come to life.”
“I don’t work for the archives. Making a dress to exhibit it in a museum is not fashion, nor is it life. It’s not for me”, the German designer once confessed, who nevertheless carried out an exhaustive search in archives, auctions and museums to outline how each of the pieces, textiles and graphics of this establishment located in The Grand Lisboa Palace Resort, in the Cotai area of ??Macau.
Caroline Lebar guards the great book with the notes and samples that the designer proposed for the hotel. Sheathed in white cotton gloves, she lovingly and delicately reviews the sheets full of findings and notes to bring antique pieces, details from the Palace of Versailles or motifs from the twenties and thirties that are now seen on carpets and paneling to the 21st century. .
As soon as you enter the lobby, a gigantic counter on which your name stands out and the designer’s silhouette made up of a thousand large keys welcomes guests. With an impeccable decoration —as well as the hospitality of its staff— the style and all the iconography of the designer, its DNA, can be appreciated in every corner, from the architectural elements to the furniture or pieces of art, even in details such as the knobs of the doors, the sheets, the bathrobes or the toiletries, with his face or his initial omnipresent.
Each of the 271 rooms and suites are decorated with influences ranging from traditional Chinese design to Versailles aesthetics, Art Deco or contemporary Western pieces. The headboards have been inspired by ancient Chinese coins; The porcelain vases scattered throughout the establishment, lavishly decorated or minimalist and gigantic, have been handcrafted in Jingdezhen, the cradle of Chinese porcelain.
And reflecting the designer’s passion for collaborating with other artists, there are sculptures by the Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, the French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel, Baccarat chandeliers and lamps by the Italian company Terzani, inspired by those that illuminated the properties of the creative director of Chanel and one of them created by himself.
Lou Dillon herself summed up for Magazine her experience in this haven of luxury so far from other establishments in Macau: “I always feel a little sad in hotels and a little lonely. Here I don’t know how they managed it, the room is gigantic, but warm and cosy. I’m not a good sleeper, jet lag and stuff, but the bed sucks you in. Marble or air conditioning usually makes me feel lost and upset, but here it’s the opposite. I don’t know how the heck Karl has managed to resolve those contradictions, but he has succeeded.”
In addition, the hotel has a very special space, The Book Lounge, a library spread over moon doors, typical of Chinese architecture gardens. There are 4,000 books carefully selected from among those treasured in the library of the artist’s house in Paris, and placed horizontally, as he liked, to better read and remember the titles. There are volumes on design, architecture, jewelry, illustration, art, and surprisingly very few on fashion.
The gastronomic chapter is signed by the award-winning Portuguese chef with two Michelin stars, José Avillez, at the Mesa restaurant, where you can enjoy Portuguese cuisine, creative cocktails with eastern and western flavors or a magnificent selection of Portuguese wines. There is also room for French sophistication at the Salon du Thé.
When it’s time to relax, immerse yourself in the spa, among bubbles and golden mosaics, or let yourself be pampered with the exquisite beauty treatments with products from the 111SKIN line, which the hotel has exclusively. You can also swim in two charming pools, one covered and decorated with feminine and precious mosaics in a reinterpreted déco key, and another outdoors with a neoclassical pavilion.
At sunset, it is worth losing yourself in the Secret Garden, a mixture of natural serenity and baroque opulence inspired by the Palace of Versailles and which forms the green heart of this great complex.
