Karl Lagerfeld

Brands across the retail spectrum have rushed to make their clothing available for purchase online, but Chanel won't be one of them anytime soon, according to the brand's CEO.

"Our clothes are quite sophisticated and one of our strengths is alterations," said Bruno Pavlovsky, who runs Chanel's business side. "To be able to wear Chanel clothes, you need to try them on. You need to be in the fitting room. You need to have a tailor who alters the clothes to fit exactly to your body. I think it's part of Chanel. It's more than just our service. It's part of our differentiation to have ready-to-wear that is perfect for our customers."

Pavlovsky later added that "perhaps two years, three years, five years from now, we will start" online sales.

Chanel already sells its fragrances and cosmetics online, but it's one of a handful of luxury houses that hasn't taken strides to launch ecommerce for its clothing. Brands like Saint Laurent and Gucci have sold their clothing online for years, and Pierre Balmain launched its ecommerce site just last week.

Karl Lagerfeld said he didn't call French President Francois Hollande an "idiot" in a recent interview with Marie Claire España, claiming that his quote was lost in translation.

"Obviously I did not say that," Lagerfeld said on French television, responding to demands for an apology from French politician — and Hollande's former partner — Segolene Royal on Sunday. "So I don't have to apologize because I didn't say it."

Lagerfeld said in reality, he finds President Hollande "funny, spiritual and very, very intelligent," and said the idea that he would insult Hollande is "frankly absurd."

Be that as it may, a translation of Lagerfeld's interview with the Spanish magazine included a criticism of Hollande's new 75 percent income tax on French citizens who earn more than €1 million (around $1.3 million) a year.

"It's a disaster," the translation said. "He wants to punish (the rich) and of course they leave and no one invests."

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• Karl Lagerfeld has called French President Francois Hollande an "idiot" for the new tax he's set on high-earning French citizens. "It's a disaster," he says. "He wants to punish (the rich) and of course they leave and no one invests." [Reuters]
  

• Jennifer Lawrence may have been named the new face of Miss Dior, but she's still sharing the title with Marion Cotillard. The French actress has just finished a new episode of the brand's online documentary, called "Metamorphose." [Fashion Etc.]
  

• The world's largest shoe store, a 96,000-square-foot Dubai retailer called the Level Shoe District, opened today. The store will stock up to 15,000 pairs of shoes from over 250 brands. [The Los Angeles Times]
  

• Iris Apfel is adding shoes to her portfolio of products, which already includes handbags, makeup, and costume jewelry. [The Cut]
  

• Just after Kristina O'Neill left Harper's Bazaar to join WSJ. Magazine, Harper's accessories director Kate Davidson Hudson and senior accessories editor Stefania Allen left, too. Whether their departure is related to O'Neill leaving remains to be seen. [Fashionista]

Those stories and more in today's news roundup.

• Christian Louboutin has given Martha Stewart permission to paint the iconic red soles of his shoes black. "I don't like them red, even though they're his trademark," she said. "But he doesn't mind. He said it's okay if I do that — I asked him!" [InStyle]
  

• Victoria Beckham shared two images from her recent Elle France cover shoot, which Karl Lagerfeld shot at the Chanel store on Paris's Rue Cambon. Beckham called the shoot "a dream come true!" [@VictoriaBeckham]
  

• London's Design Museum will exhibit a retrospective of Paul Smith's work next Fall, examining everything from the clothing he designs to the stores he's designed around the world. [WWD]
  

• French artist Fabrice Hyber's sculpture "1M3 de beaute" (translation: one cubic meter of beauty) is a cube of Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture number one lipstick that weighs about 330 pounds. The sculpture will be on display in Paris's Palais de Tokyo until Jan. 7. [Fashion Etc.]
  

• Meanwhile, British artists Mariana Fantich and Dominic Young took a pair of size 15 men's shoes from Savile Row by Barker and replaced the soles with 1,050 fake teeth. They call the resulting one-offs, which weren't meant to be worn, the Apex Predator. [Art Info]
  

• Because hair stylists weren't already specialized enough, a Los Angeles salon called the Private Room now has a station devoted exclusively to cutting bangs. For $20, customers can choose from bangs shaped like celebrities' from Katie Holmes to Rose Byrne. [The Cut]

Source: Twitter User VictoriaBeckham

Can't stop, won't stop. Karl Lagerfeld says the reason he's constantly producing clothing, advertising imagery, and coffee-table books is because none of it feels like work.

"Working is something boring for people who go to an office to make a living," said Lagerfeld in an interview with Vogue UK. "I do a job. I wanted to do it as a child. I love fashion. I like the world of fashion. I'm lucky to work in the most perfect condition. I can do what I want in all kinds of areas: the expensive, the not expensive, and all that. I think I'm very lucky. I would be stupid to stop that. Why should I? It's not work. Work is when you make a living being bored."

Of course, most people don't have the freedom that the Kaiser enjoys, which might have something to do with why he has so much fun at the office.

"When I took over Chanel, it was 30 years ago, the owner said, 'I've got the business. The way it is, I'm not proud of it. Try to make something out of it. If not, I'll sell it.' And it became a huge modern business. So the limit is up to me to create, because I have what the French call carte blanche. No one ever tells me any limit. That is luxury at its best."