WWD

KARL’S BLACK BOOK: Fervent bookworm Karl Lagerfeld, whose personal library is the size of a ballroom, is the latest designer invited to reinvent the holiday edition of France’s “Le Petit Larousse Illustré” (“Larousse Small Illustrated Dictionary”). The cover of the limited edition, matte black tome, due for release Nov. 4, features a corner illustration by Lagerfeld of the famous Larousse “Semeuse,” or “Seed-Scatterer,” blowing a puff of dandelion seeds in her birthday suit and a pair of blue, elbow-length gloves. The book’s black case features a photo-cum-sketch, self-portrait of the designer, with the words “Habillé par Karl Lagerfeld” (“Dressed by Karl Lagerfeld”) scrawled in silver. Adding further pomp to the occasion, Lagerfeld has even made it into the dictionary’s proper nouns section for the first time, along with the likes of Björk, Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt.