New Karl Lagerfeld Book to Come From Famed Biographer With Texas Ties — a PaperCity Exclusive

As we were sending the April issue to print, author William Middleton texted with a bombshell. The biographer of the de Menils — Double Vision was the art book of 2018 — revealed that he has signed a contract with HarperCollins.

Middleton’s subject: Karl Lagerfeld, with whom Middleton developed a friendship when stationed in Paris as bureau chief for Women’s Wear Daily and W in the ’90s. Middleton will move from Manhattan to Paris next month to begin research, taking his canine muse, French bulldog Hubert.

Find our profile of Middleton’s writing approach to the de Menil magnum opus, and peer inside  his Houston living quarters — in a Montrose aerie — where the book was birthed here.

Read our review of Double Vision here. And what The Wall Street Journal said here.

Regarding his next writing project — one the fashion world will be eagerly awaiting — Middleton tells PaperCity, “This will not be exhaustive, unlike the de Menil book. It will not be a day-to-day chronicle. Instead, it will be an episodic look at the most important moments in Lagerfeld’s life, at the world around him, and at his fierce engagement with popular culture.”

As to his approach and the upcoming book’s scope, Middleton notes, “It will cover Lagerfeld’s entire life, but it will be something like flashes, illuminating only the most key elements.”

The author says of his subject: “He was a couturier and a fashion designer, of course, so that is part of the story. But he was also intensely engaged with art and design and cinema and music and literature and history — that will be drawn out.”

Middleton confirms,”Yes, there is an advance which will allow me to move to Paris and concentrate on researching and writing the book.”

He says, “I am hoping to move mid-May. There will be an apartment search once Hubert and I are there. I love the 7th Arrondissement, on the Left Bank, and it is a great place for a dog. But we will see — there are a lot of great corners of the city.

“Also, I lived in Paris for 10 years, from September 1990 until March 2000, so this feels like something of a homecoming to me.

“And, finally, there is no doubt that this book would not have happened without the de Menil biography.”

Middleton says, “The editor in chief of HarperCollins, and my editor, were both very positive about the de Menil book. So, I am very grateful for all of the time in Texas and for having been able to devote so much energy to researching and writing about a subject that everyone finds so inspiring”.

Stay tuned: Expected publication date for Middleton’s take on Karl Lagerfeld is 2021.