PARIS — Feline eyes and a pale complexion are definitely in. Just ask Choupette, Karl Lagerfeld’s famous, snow-white Siamese cat, who is to front a holiday makeup collection for Japanese brand Shu Uemura, WWD has learned.
Billing it as the first tie-up between a beauty name and a house pet, Shu Uemura is to unveil the range in the fall under the Shupette by Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura label.
This marks a return engagement for Lagerfeld, who did a 17-stockkeeping-unit line for holiday retailing in 2012 that shipped to some 400 doors under the Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura label. That range was based on a cartoon spokesmodel he dreamed up called Mon Shu, with red eyes, a jet-black bob and a wardrobe similar to the designer’s.
Press materials suggest the Shupette range is likely to include furry false eyelashes, and includes a quote from the cat, calling herself “queen of catnaps” and “social media’s most wanted.”
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Indeed, the Twitter handle @ChoupettesDiary boasts 37,000 followers and the following introduction: “I’m a famous beauty who refuses to eat on the floor and my maids pamper my every need. I am Choupette Lagerfeld and I am a spoiled pussy.”
Lagerfeld already photographed his cat for the Shu Uemura campaign.
Model Baptiste Giabiconi gave Choupette to Lagerfeld to watch over during Christmas in 2011 and the designer refused to give her back.
“I thought she was too cute. She is like a kept woman. She has a strong personality. She has lunch and dinner with me on the table, with her own food,” he said in a 2012 interview. “She even knows how to use an iPad.”
Lagerfeld, who designs for Chanel and Fendi in addition to his signature house, has employed Shu Uemura makeup to hand-color his illustrations for more than 20 years.
Founded in 1983 and controlled by L’Oréal since 2003, the brand’s namesake was a Tokyo-born Hollywood makeup artist who died on Dec. 29, 2007 at age 79.