Karl Lagerfeld to be guest of honour at Paris photography fair

Designer-photographer Karl Lagerfeld is to be the guest of honour at the 21st edition of the world's top photography fair, Paris Photo, organisers announced Thursday. The event is scheduled to run from 9 to 12 November at Paris' Grand Palais.

Some 150 galleries and 30 international editors will participate in the event dedicated to photographic creation, which attracts over 60,000 visitors every year.

"Karl Lagerfeld is an extremely versatile creator, he's a photographer, a collector, an editor," emphasised the head of Paris Photo, Florence Bourgeois, to AFP. "He's someone who can offer a well-rounded perspective," she continued. "He doesn't only come from a photography background, he has another medium that interests us, much like David Lynch who we invited as guest of honour in 2012."

Creative director of Chanel, Fendi and his eponymous label, Karl Lagerfeld, now 83, began his photographic work in 1987. He was awarded the 'Prix de la Culture' cultural prize from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie and the ICP Trustee Award from the International Center of Photography, underlined Paris Photo organisers.

Lagerfeld's photography, mostly in large format, was also the subject of a Pinacothèque exhibition in 2015.

"Photography is an integral part of my life. It creates harmony between my artistic passion and my professional enthusiasm," said Lagerfeld in a press release.

The 'King of Fashion' is to select around a hundred photographs from the thousands which will be presented by the galleries at the photography fair. These photographs will be the subject of a history of the fair and will be published in a book produced by Editions Steidl.