The Secret Hobbies of Fashion's Biggest Icons

Fashion icons were shaped by off-duty passions that fed into their work. Chanel developed a love of fly-fishing in Scotland, spending time in tweeds by Highland rivers, and those experiences influenced her wardrobe vocabulary. Ralph Lauren built a major automotive collecting reputation, amassing rare Ferraris, Bugattis, and Bentleys that were later exhibited, and he used his own garage as inspiration for a Fall 2017 New York show setting. Karl Lagerfeld pursued books intensely, owning a vast personal library and running a Paris bookstore focused on photography, architecture, design, and rare art, while also photographing campaigns. Christian Dior cultivated gardening, growing up amid elaborate Normandy gardens.

"Perhaps the most unexpected hobby belonged to Chanel, who developed a love of fly-fishing during her years with the Duke of Westminster in Scotland. The designer spent part of the 1920s dressed in tweeds beside Highland rivers, embracing country sports typically associated with aristocratic men. The influence of those years would go on to filter directly into Chanel's wardrobe vocabulary."

"Outside of fashion, Lauren developed a serious reputation in the automotive world, thanks to his hobby of collecting. He amassed exceptionally rare Ferraris, Bugattis, and Bentleys which have since been exhibited at institutions including the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. And during his Fall 2017 fashion show in New York, he designed the setting based on his own automotive garage."

"For Lagerfeld, his great passion beyond fashion was books. He reportedly owned a personal library of more than 300,000 volumes and is rumoured to have once claimed he preferred reading to almost anything else. His Paris bookstore, 7L Bookstore, specialized in photography, architecture, design and rare art publications. He also became an accomplished photographer himself, regularly shooting campaigns for Chanel and Fendi."

"Dior's hobby was a simple one: gardening. The designer grew up at Villa Les Rhumbs in Normandy, surrounded by the elaborate gardens cultivated by h"

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