Not all cats are created equal it seems. While most cats are sleeping the day away, waking occasionally to demand food, others are building business empires. Cue Choupette, the beloved blue-eyed Birman of the late Chanel and Fendi designer, Karl Lagerfeld.
When fashion powerhouse Karl Lagerfeld died in February 2019, he left part of his estimated $200 million fortune to his cat. And while most cats would be content to sit back and enjoy the gravy train, Choupette is different.
Seemingly driven by the same prodigious work ethic of Lagerfeld, Choupette has just launched her first furniture collaboration, in conjunction with German animal furniture company LucyBalu, which started when the company’s founder Mathias Wahrenberger sent a Swing hammock bed to the cat as a gift.
"Sometime after that, we received a message saying that our Swing was Choupette's new favourite place," Wahrenberger explains. "This was the moment in which our dream of collaborating with Karl Lagerfeld's cat became reality."
Limited edition (naturally) to just one thousand pieces, the Swing cat hammock is chic and minimal. It is designed in mid-tone grey felt, chosen for its ability to create the purrfect temperature by retaining heat and absorbing moisture. This is held in place by two wall-mounted, white powder coated support arms, giving a result of a bed seemingly floating in mid air. Simple and elegant, the new edition now comes with Choupette's approval and signature.
Choupette’s agent, Lucas Berullier explains, "With Choupette loving her hammock – which she sleeps and relaxes on – it is obvious that not only we, but cat owners all around the world should be introduced to the LucyBalu brand. We only choose certain projects that we think really match Choupette."
Meanwhile, Choupette herself took to her social media to announce the launch, "I'm so proud to announce that LucyBalu and I are having a cooperation together. LucyBalu is a young German label, producing simply beautiful cat furniture. Let me introduce to you my personal LucyBalu x Choupette Swing cat hammock. It is a limited edition of only 1,000 pieces. I really love it!"
Given Choupette's knack for business, it is expected the Swing will sell out quickly. Past projects include a collab with Shu Uemura which resulted in a make up line entitled Shu-pette, while the tie up with the German toy maker Stieff maker saw her likeness immortalised in toy form. Choupette has several books about her already, not least by Lagerfeld, who's tome, Choupette sold out with the royalties going to the cat, not the author.
"We are honoured to have had the opportunity to be this close to Choupette," explained LucyBalu designer Sebastian Frank. "I mean, we were the first people to ever be allowed to take pictures and videos of Choupette in her home ... We received a very warm welcome from the entire Choupette family, despite all the hype this famous blue-eyed Birman cat receives."
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