Choupette gets a limited edition toy; herself

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Apr 24, 2017

Fashion’s most famous cat now has an alter ego. Choupette, the pet cat of Karl Lagerfeld, is launching a limited edition furry feline toy made by Steiff, the 135-year-old German toy brand. Choupette already has 86,000 followers on Instagram with her account @ChoupettesDiary; and 51,000 on Twitter. Now, she will have 2,000 versions of herself in woven fur with hand-painted features. Each priced at €499. And included in the packaging, a little magnetic mouse - in, what else, black leather.

 
“Choupette is such a famous and beautiful cat that when this request came to me, I was not even surprised,” says Karl Lagerfeld of his famous white sacred Birman feline.
 
Gifted to Karl by French model Baptiste Giabiconi back in 2011, Choupette has gone onto promote brands as diverse as Opel and Shu Uemura; hold multiple “interviews” with leading fashion magazines and develop a massive array of products bearing her likeness from mobile phone covers and weekend bags to T-shirts and leather mittens. Her next next project? Her own pop-up store in Galeries Lafayette.

“I must admit I was born under a lucky star – at a very young age, I met the man of my dreams: Karl Lagerfeld! It really was ‘love at first sight!’ Karl is so totally crazy about me he even said that I am ‘the Garbo of cats.’ We never leave each other; he takes me everywhere, pampers me, spoils me, I’m his muse, his inspiration ... he confesses that he cannot resist my big opal eyes! It almost makes me blush! Makeup line, magazine covers, interviews, I am very much in demand, but Karl does not want me to do too much. He is very selective and chooses for me la crème de la crème. So when the prestigious Steiff company offered to turn me into the sweetest of plush animals, he readily agreed,” announced Choupette in her press release.
 
Steiff is generally regarded as the inventor of the first teddy bear, each of whose soft toys carry a button their ears: just like Choupette. Starting on Tuesday, April 25, one can order the posh puss toy on karl.com: from May 15 it will be available in Lagerfeld’s global chain of some 85 boutiques, and Steiff stores.
 
Lagerfeld’s fashion house is owned by Apax Partners and PVH, which controls Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Speedo. Though none of the other brands have a muse anywhere near as busy as Choupette.