Karl Lagerfeld: I love what Rosenthal means!

"I was supposed to come up with twelve pictures and ended up with about sixty, because it was such good fun."On the one hand I love this brand, which is truly part of the German legacy; on the other I am also interested in work as a link between beauty and functionality."

Supermodel Brad Kroenig "By choosing a male model I wanted to play with cliché of 'becoming bourgeois' which is associated with a porcelain and crystal dinner service. The man appears to embody the opposite of fragility, of the vulnerability of these precious articles, but perhaps this is just a marvellous illusion."

The Artistic Director of Chanel and Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld, hence created the magnificent, new visual advertising materials for the Rosenthal campaign, frankly admitting that „he loves work for the sake of itself, not for the sake of the result“ and that he calls for „a love of things transitory, of the moment, of the perishable, of the next step forward.“ For the love of this brand.

Viewed in etymological terms, the name „Rosenthal” is derived from “Rosen Thal”, or „bed of roses”, which of course appeals to Karl (his first name means „male strength“ and his surname „bivouac“, which is certainly remarkable for a nomad of the luxury world such as he is!)

„I love what Rosenthal means! Life is a valley full of roses, let us choose those without thorns!”, comments Karl Lagerfeld before he comments upon his photographs.

Karl Lagerfeld comments on his photographs:

„A vase that turns into a boxing glove when „worn” by an elegant gentleman symbolizes the humorous confrontation between the terms fragility and stability.”

Vase: „Vase of phases“ from the Rosenthal studio-line collection; Design: Dror Benshetrit; 2005

„I loathe the idea of transparency in life. Transparency is nothing but an illusion. It is just a mask, like everything else. But in this particular instance the crystal’s transparency is further intensified by the black and white.“ Link: Phases im Rosenthal-Katalog

Glasses: Glass collections from the Rosenthal studio-line and Rosenthal classic series

„I have used the new edition of the biscuit china statue - which has been photographed from behind facing towards the man - to illustrate the German idiom: „A beautiful back can also delight...”

Figureen: „Woman sitting“from the collection „Treasures from the Rosenthal Archives“, Design: Fritz Klimsch; 1936

„Rosenthal means „Valley of Roses”. I put white roses in a glass, which promotes the old-fashioned German Romantic period of the 19th century. I prefer the more overly intellectual and more spiritual 18th century myself.”
Link: Woman sitting at www.rosenthal.de

Porcelain cocktail glass: „Phases“ from the Rosenthal studio-line collection; Design: Dror Benshetrit; 2005

„The small rabbit in front of the teapot reminded me of Lewis Carroll’s world, while my own relationship to the animals is one of polite indifference...”

Rabbit: „Laughing rabbit“ from the Rosenthal classic collection; Design: Max D.H. Fritz; 1930; Décor: Rosenthal Creative Center; 2008
Teapot: „TAC Dynamic Gold“ from the Rosenthal studio-line collection; Form design: Walter Gropius (1969); Décor: Rosenthal Creative Center (2008)
Link: TAC Dynamic Gold auf www.rosenthal.de

„This young man, who is looking at us with a mixture of naivety and graceful casualness as he sits leaning against the wall with a teacup in his hand, gives us – in my opinion – a different view of the domestic man, of the seduction of everyday life. The more playful version of this seduction is the young man with the cutlery stuck in his belt and the plate in his hand.“

Set: „Landscape“ from the Rosenthal studio-line collection; Design: Patricia Urquiola; 2008

Plate: “TAC Dynamic”from the Rosenthal studio-line collection; Form design: Walter Gropius (1969); Décor: Rosenthal Creative Center (2007)
Cutlery: „Dialog“from the Rosenthal studio-line collection; Design: Lino Sabattini; 1991; „Taille“ from the Rosenthal studio-line collection; Design: Tapio Wirkkala; 1968

„The circus juggler didn’t really perform his act very well, and it is precisely this which makes him so charming. He breaks everything; it is a sublime, cheerful catastrophe. A festive atmosphere, as paradoxical as this may seem. Playing with glass, the ‚Glass Menagerie’, the play by Tennessee Williams. Why? One image leads onto the next.”
Link: Landscape at www.rosenthal.de

„Surface“ from the Rosenthal studio-line collection; Design: Achim Haigis; 2007

Glasses: Glass collections by the Rosenthal studio-line

„Atlas carries a shelf laden with porcelain objects, the discus thrower prepares to throw a disc: The derivations, the to-ing and fro-ing between mythology and domesticity are utterly amusing. And apart from this they make sense, too!”

Set: „The magic flute gold“ from the Rosenthal studio-line collection; Design: Björn Wiinblad; 1968
Glass vase: „Blockglas“ from the Rosenthal studio-line collection; Design: Rosenthal Creative Center; 2005

„I am a collector, someone who accumulates things; I own several hundred thousand books; I love this physical relationship to the works. I often find myself in the same position as this young man, lying down and surrounded by the objects. In the case of the young man here, this pose is actually attractive...”
Link: Blockglas auf www.rosenthal.de

Porcelain: Rosenthal studio-line and Rosenthal classic

„Masks fascinate me. So I let the young man carry this wonderful contemporary Cretan vase, as if it were a mask. One can’t help but think of a mutant. I don’t like mutations, but beauty always has an association with strangeness, too. “There is no beauty without some strangeness in the proportions.”We live the in the 21st century. The criteria for beauty must be re-thought, re-considered. I am of Baudelaire’s opinion in this regard: „Le beau est toujours bizarre” (The beautiful is always somewhat bizarre).“