Karl Lagerfeld’s pet muse of new book

Chanel designer’s cat Choupette leads a ‘purrfect’ life

PARIS: A cat that enjoys playing hide-and-seek, dining on food covered in sauce, flicking pencils from the desk to the floor and doesn’t like opera, room sprays, flight take-offs. Such are the likes and dislikes of Choupette, the most famous cat in fashion, owned by Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, according to the new book Choupette – the Enchanted Life of a Fashion Cat.

With photographs by Lagerfeld, the 123-page hardback released on Wednesday pays homage to the three-year-old white Burmese cat. In various modelling sessions captured in the book published by Flammarion, Choupette is seen draped around the neck of model Laetitia Casta, with the Eiffel Tower in the background, or wrapped in the arms of model Linda Evangelista.

The book depicts Choupette doing things any ordinary cat would do such as curling up, playing with a feather toy and hiding in a shopping bag. Next to those are pictures of her playing with her very own iPad, which she uses to tweet, or has someone to do it for her.

The blue-eyed cat leads a life that every supermodel would envy. From her made-to-measure Louis Vuitton luggage to the three silver bowls that serve as her dinnerware, Choupette leads a charmed life. Tending to her every whim are two ladies-in-waiting and a bodyguard. She is allowed to visit the cockpit on Lagerfeld’s private jet, poses with top models and celebrates her birthday with fresh shrimp cocktail.

The first message under her Twitter handle @ChoupettesDiary posted two years ago stated, “Everything, from my whiskers to my meows, is a source of inspiration.” The feline now has 41,000 followers on her Twitter account.

The book also includes recipes to please feline palates imagined by chefs from the most prestigious restaurants in Paris. The Cafe de Flore’s (Destructured) Choupette Club, named after the famous Left Bank cafe, a favourite of Lagerfeld’s, calls for cubed chicken, egg, bread, bacon and mayonnaise.

Choupette’s everyday food menu comprises chicken, turkey and fish. Simple tastes endear the haute couture cat to Lagerfeld, the man who once famously said, “I’m very much down to earth. Just not this Earth.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2014.

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