Being a star can
be exhausting, Lagerfeld says

What's it like to work as a designer for several glamorous fashion labels and to be a photographer, author, and film star at the same time?

A bit tiring, Karl Lagerfeld said on Wednesday.

The pony-tailed German, who is designing outfits for Chanel, Fendi, and his Karl Lagerfeld label, as well as editing glossy books, said his celebrity status comes at a cost.

"Sometimes it is a bit exhausting too because you lose a certain kind of freedom," Lagerfeld told reporters after he presented his new Karl Lagerfeld collection in Paris, parading models in round-shouldered coats and slim pencil skirts.

"But you cannot have your cake and eat it," Lagerfeld said.

Lagerfeld is one of several multitasking designers presenting their collections in Paris this week. The United Kingdom's Stella McCartney and Dutch design duo Viktor & Rolf have all designed one-off collections for Swedish retailer H&M.

French designer Christian Lacroix, who presented slim satin suits and jackets with corset belts on Wednesday, has designed theater costumes and the interior of train cars.

Lagerfeld, 68, is to roll out a high-end line for Chanel later this week and will also present his young K Karl Lagerfeld collection, a line including T-shirts and jeans.

Didier Grumbach, the head of the French fashion federation, said Lagerfeld managed to adapt his style to his different jobs.

"He has personalized and incarnated where he is working, and is applying that to each brand," Grumbach said at Lagerfeld's show. "It is a capacity few designers have today."

The eccentric designer also moved to cinema screens this month when Rodolphe Marconi showed his Lagerfeld Confidential portrayal of the German at the Berlin film festival.

ANTIFUR PROTEST

Lacroix, who celebrates the 20th anniversary of his house this year, is also a man with many roles. He has designed opera costumes as well as crockery lines.

On Wednesday the Frenchman showed models wearing silver boots and slim coats with sparkling belts at the waist.

"I love this job," Lacroix said after the show. "It's such a challenge. We are borderline every day. It's about being in tune with the world.... We're not in an ivory tower."

As models in shiny dresses with big fur collars walked down the runway, a naked antifur protester jumped on to the catwalk. She was quickly dragged away by security guards.

"I'm no hypocrite. I love fur," Lacroix said.

Protesters also tried to disrupt Italian designer Valentino's show earlier on Wednesday. They were held back by guards before they could reach the runway, where models in tweed dresses with large fur sleeves strutted out. (Reuters)