Neiman Marcus Gives Lagerfeld Award

A day after Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld's extravagant Metiers d'Art fashion show in Dallas featuring models wearing fringe, feathers and leather, he accepted Neiman Marcus' fashion award at its flagship store.

"Everything is bigger in Texas and Karl has finally found a place that thinks and acts on the epic scale that he does," Vogue editor Anna Wintour said during the ceremony. "Nowhere is his grand vision more evident than in his legendary fashion shows."

Lagerfeld accepted the Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion, the same award that brought Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel to Dallas in 1957. Lagerfeld, who also won the award in 1980 for his work at Chloe, is the only person who's been given the honor twice.

"We are beyond excited that the fashion world has converged on Dallas," said Karen Katz, president and CEO of Neiman Marcus.

Lagerfeld picks a city linked to the Chanel fashion house for the theme of the show staged each December to highlight the work of its artisans. For Tuesday night's runway show at Dallas' Art Deco exhibition venue Fair Park, Chanel turned one of the halls into a barn, complete with a hay-scattered runway. Models sported Western-style hats and boots. Many outfits included Native American-inspired prints, with most of the models wearing a single feather in their hair. The final model was dressed in an all-white ensemble that included fringed pants and a floor-grazing feather headdress.

Lagerfeld, who is German, said after the show Tuesday night that he was inspired by "the idea of the old Texas, even before the Civil War."

Wintour said Wednesday that in addition to being a fashion designer, he's also "a writer, a photographer, a linguist, a critic, an illustrator, a raconteur, a historian, a collector, a movie director, a brilliant ballroom dancer." She added that he's also a "genius" at decorating who "changes the look of his sensational houses as often as you and I change our shoes."

She said he's happiest at home with his cat, surrounded by his stacks of books, "sketching those beautiful, beautiful clothes for all of us to wear."

Stanley Marcus, son of one of the store's founders, established the award in 1938. It was given yearly through the 1960s, and awarded intermittently in later years. Marcus, who eventually led Neiman Marcus, was given the award in 1995. Other recipients have included Grace Kelly, Miuccia Prada, Bill Blass and Elsa Schiaparelli.