Fashion's multi-taskers

The hugely gifted German designer is not one to be pinned down or hemmed in. Karl Lagerfeld will not confine his talents to designing for Chanel and Fendi and his own Lagerfeld Gallery. Most recently he has joined forces with Swedish fashion emporium H&M to design a limited, affordable collection.

However, fashion design is not the only thing on his agenda. He edits books, does fashion photography for magazines and is even working on a project to produce Chanel stamps for the French post.

As a rule, the fashion industry does not believe in such multi-tasking. It is generally believed that Tom Ford lost the plot, designing for both Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. His former bosses at Pinault Printemps Redoute have now chosen to appoint two different designer to design to two brands. Alessandra Facchinetti has followed in Ford's footsteps at Gucci, and Stefano Pilati is designing for YSL.

In France the trend however is to multi-task, designing for two brands at once. Designers such as Marc Jacobs designs both for his own label and for Louis Vuitton, while John Galliano designs for his own brand, but also for Christian Dior. The trick, according to Lagerfeld, is to compartmentalize. And to have a good team of in-house designers to execute your ideas.