Sotheby's auctions Karl Lagerfeld belongings from his various residences

In the third installment of the Karl Lagerfeld sale series, Sotheby's is selling Lagerfeld’s personal belongings from his various residences, presenting an anthology of his personal taste but also of his life and career.

The Cologne sale represents his image, multiple and surprising, telling the story of the couturier, the collector, the decorator and the photographer.

Lots in the sale include a Dior Homme black and multicolor wool jacket, circa 2000, with a starting bid of 1,800 euros; a dark blue wool and silk tuxedo by Givenchy has a starting bid of 300 euros. Elsewhere there is Goyard luggage, a set of wool, silk and cashmere scarves and a Chanel balloon dog, with bids reaching 7,000 euros at time of writing.

An insatiable collector, Karl Lagerfeld created bold interiors throughout his life. He opted for the colourful and playful Italian design of the Memphis group whose humour he had fallen in love with in the 1980s. He then turned to the French decorative arts of the 18th century, which he considered an ideal of elegance and refinement. In the early 1970's, he was equally passionate about Art Deco, which he described as the roots of "this modernity that I am tirelessly searching for".

For the last twenty years of his life, it was contemporary design by figures such as Mark Newson, Martin Szekely and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, with whom he created a new futuristic interior at the dawn of the 3rd millennium. His last residence in Louveciennes was unexpectedly decorated in a style relating to Germany in the 1920s, with furniture designed by Bruno Paul and posters from early 20th century German advertising.