The Kaiser Keeps His Boots On

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Remember the rumor that Karl Lagerfeld was leaving Chanel? Chanel denied it, but now Cathy Horyn gets the designer himself to shoot it down: "I asked Mr. Lagerfeld about the new collection, about staying current, and about those blog reports that he would leave Chanel and be replaced by Alber Elbaz of Lanvin. Mr. Lagerfeld said to forget about it. He was going to die with his boots on. He also mentioned that Alain Wertheimer, whose family owns Chanel, said he would sell the house when the designer leaves. This might not be the case, Mr. Lagerfeld said, but it was a nice thing to be told." [On the Runway; Previously]