Karl Lagerfeld puts Nicolas Baurain in charge of accessories design

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Dec 10, 2018

Karl Lagerfeld has put Nicolas Baurain in charge of accessories design. The German designer's eponymous ready-to-wear label decided to hire an experienced creative to lead one of its key product categories, which was formerly managed by an external designer. “We are delighted to have Nicolas on board. Accessories are very important for our label. Our progression in this segment is such that we needed someone to join us internally. This appointment will enable us to keep on expanding,” the label told FashionNetwork.com.

Baurain has worked in the leather goods sector for nearly 20 years. After stints at several fashion labels, in 2017 he launched his own leather goods brand, Baurain, which is manufactured in Italy and will be put on hold following the designer’s appointment at Karl Lagerfeld, where he will oversee bags and small leather goods.

After studying at the Duperré Graduate School of Applied Arts in Paris, Baurain started his career in 2001 at Carven, as assistant creative director. He then moved to Guy Laroche, working on accessories, and later went to London to join Alexander McQueen for two years, and Jimmy Choo for another two.

In 2012, he relocated to New York, joining the design studio of J. Mendel, where he was in charge of accessories and launched the brand’s first handbag line. Baurain then collaborated with other labels, from Diane Von Furstenberg to Tory Burch, Ralph Lauren and Liebeskind, before founding his own.

Karl Lagerfeld is growing at a steady pace and is hiring extensively at the moment. It has also opened a number of new monobrand stores - having topped the 100-store mark in five years - and signed several new licence deals. Accessories, of all kinds including leather goods, shoes, eyewear amongst others, make up 59 percent of the label's sales, while ready-to-wear is 41 percent.