18Gallery is proud to present art photos by Karl Lagerfeld who is this month celebrated in Shanghai having the CHANEL show at the MoCa and a more private side of his creativity exhibited at the gallery. Karl Lagerfeld, the fashion designer, the artist and the photographer is highly acclaimed for his eye and high class universe. Most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel. In addition to his career as fashion designer and perfume creator, he began working as a photographer in 1987. As a photographer one often sees the result of his shootings as Lagerfeld photographs advertising campaigns for the houses under his direction (Chanel, Fendi and his eponymous line) every season. He has received the Lucky Strike Design Award from the Raymond Loewy Foundation and the cultural prize from the German Photographic Society. Steidl has published most of Karl Lagerfeld's photography books.

As a real lover of black and white, Karl Largefeld experiment the photographic medium in a lot of different ways. The images embrace an extravagant mystery quality with ultimate elegance and sophistication, which echoes the power and poise so distinctive of Karl. Built as scene the  photographs are part of Karl Lagerfeld’s world and reflect his vision of the world. Some might say he  lives in another era, a much more refined world and even an eccentric universe. One might see the influence of silent films on Lagerfeld’s works and his love for theatre.

The exhibition features a limited collection of photos produced by Karl Lagerfeld and Adnan Taletovich – a professional fashion model and photographer. Adnan Taletovich has collaborated with Karl Lagerfeld in numerous photo shoots for Karl Lagerfeld. Taletovich was once one of Lagerfeld’s favourite subjects. “There was excitement in everything we did and I caught his imagination,” Taletovich says of his collaboration with the fashion guru. “Every shoot was very much acting and not just posing as a model.” This rare collection not only features familiar faces of world renowned models such as Linda Evangelista, Helena Christensen and Patricia Velasquez, but also reflects the artistic style and mastery of a great designer and artist – Karl Lagerfeld.

In one of the street scenes work, the production team managed to get a street closed for shooting in the Le Marais district in Paris. The almost theatrical scene aims to relive 19th century with Kristen McMenamy dressed in the typical androgynous style. Many of the images in the collection were shot at Karl Lagerfeld’s residences in Paris and Monte Carlo, in the 1990’s. A few of the works in the collection also reveal off-scene jovial moments captured through the eyes of Karl Lagerfeld, including one with Helena Christensen playfully pulling off Adnan Taletovich’s towel.