Choupette (born 15 August 2011) is a blue-cream tortie Birman cat which was the pet of German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld from around Christmas 2011 until Lagerfeld’s death on 19 February 2019 at the age of 85.
Originally belonging to the French model Baptiste Giabiconi, Choupette was given as a gift to Lagerfeld around Christmas 2011 following a stay with the designer while Giabiconi was abroad. “When he came back I thought I’m sorry Choupette is mine,” said Lagerfeld.
Following Lagerfeld’s death, there has been resulting confusion over which is the “real” Choupette page. Choupette’s personal account, @ChoupetteOfficiel, was only created after Lagerfeld’s death. Whereas, her first media appearance was made via the social networking service Twitter on 16 January 2012, on @ChoupettesDiary, a fan page by Ashley Schudin. In an interview with Making It In Manhattan, Schudin explains, “The Twitter account was originally created as a joke and playful satire for what the people believe the fashion industry is really like.” Schudin explains, “In the past 2 years, it has increasingly become more challenging since Karl Lagerfeld’s team is not directly involved in my brand and therefore, I am not provided assets regularly. It is often a struggle to get original content when I don’t have direct access to Choupette.”
With Choupette’s social media presence and multiple ‘interviews’ in high-end fashion magazines, her celebrity has grown, having prompted Lagerfeld to have remarked “People are stunned by her … Soon people will talk more about Choupette than about me!” As of March 2015, she has more than 46,000 fans on the Twitter account invented in her honor.
In June 2013, Lagerfeld announced that he wished to marry Choupette. He said in an interview with CNN, “There is no marriage, yet, for human beings and animals. I never thought that I would fall in love like this with a cat.”
Following Lagerfeld’s death in February 2019 speculation ran rampant that the feline would inherit part of the late designer’s fortune, as in fact the German born couturier once told Le Figaro that (Choupette) “has her own little fortune. She is an heiress”.
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