As the Met Gala approached, Laurie Lynn Stark's phone wouldn't stop ringing. Stark, co-owner of the Los Angeles-based luxury brand Chrome Hearts, was inundated with last-minute requests from celebrities and their stylists for pieces to wear at fashion’s biggest night. “People were calling for clothes on Friday!” she says. Chrome Hearts, known for its gothic sterling silver accessories, heavy-duty leather garments, and baroque-biker design aesthetic, prides itself on quality craftsmanship—each piece made slowly, by hand, in Hollywood. The brand, often flaunted by A-listers like Drake, isn’t a typical red carpet staple. But the 2023 Met Gala, a tribute to Karl Lagerfeld, saw a surge in demand. “Karl,” Stark says, “loved Chrome.”

Before his death in 2019, Karl Lagerfeld was fashion’s greatest and most famous eccentric. His distinctive look—tight jeans, skinny Dior blazer, starched white shirt with a tall collar, wide black tie, leather gloves, and dark sunglasses—was instantly recognizable. This image of a Prussian dandy was often accessorized with Chrome Hearts jewelry: layers of necklaces, stacks of rings, and dangly wallet chains. Despite owning hundreds of belts, Lagerfeld was rarely seen without a diamond-encrusted Chrome Hearts “Gunslinger” buckle in his final decade. His silver accessories became as central to his identity as his silver ponytail.

Lagerfeld's Chrome Hearts obsession has been seen as one of his many quirks. Why would the German designer of Chanel and Fendi adorn himself with pieces from a label rooted in LA’s biker and rock 'n' roll scenes? Laurie Lynn, whose husband Richard Stark founded Chrome Hearts in 1988, pondered the same question when Lagerfeld first visited their Upper East Side store in the late '90s. “He’s the farthest thing you could ever be from a biker,” she says. At the time, Chrome Hearts was transitioning from its motorcycle roots to an emblem of hardcore American luxury, with clients like Cher and Guns N’ Roses and a growing popularity in Japan, but it had little presence in Europe.

Stark doesn’t recall Lagerfeld buying anything on his first visit, but he kept returning, sitting in the garden, drinking diet sodas, and enjoying the atmosphere. “We were just blown away that he would keep coming back,” she says. Lagerfeld soon became a fixture at the townhouse store. “He absolutely loved hanging out. He loved the atmosphere. He would come in and not buy anything, just hang out. That's how we got to know him,” Stark says. She remembers how polite the often imperious designer was. “He was so kind to everyone in the store. He never treated anyone like, ‘You are just the door guy.’ To him, everyone was on the same level.”

Lagerfeld recognized in Chrome Hearts values he held dear, even if the brand’s aesthetic contrasted sharply with the high artistry he pursued on European runways. In the courtyard, away from the press, Lagerfeld would tell Stark how inspired he was by each visit. “Karl loved the quality, and that it was timeless,” Stark says. “He always said, ‘These will be passed on. They’re heirlooms.’” He appreciated the brand’s family-owned culture and their commitment to making whatever they felt like, rather than chasing trends. “He said, ‘It’s real. You’re the only real brand around,’” Stark recalls.

Lagerfeld eventually began shopping, first for furniture, then jewelry and accessories. A devoted collector, Lagerfeld’s Chrome Hearts purchases soon became extensive. In a 2007 interview with the Starks for a magazine Chrome Hearts distributed in Japan, Lagerfeld estimated he owned 60 different Chrome Hearts rings. He frequently gifted Chrome Hearts pieces to his friends, always buying the same piece for himself.

Lagerfeld’s mentorship had a significant influence on Chrome Hearts. “Anything we needed, any advice we needed, Richard would call Karl,” Laurie Lynn says. Lagerfeld guided them on various matters, from keeping an archive to marking their jewelry with the year it was made. When Chrome Hearts wanted to break into Europe, Lagerfeld smoothed their entry into the French luxury scene. “When we opened a store in Paris, it was because Karl gave us a stamp of approval. It was our gateway to Europe,” Stark says. He introduced influential friends to the store and collaborated with Chrome Hearts on a small line of bags for Chanel, marking one of the brand’s first collaborations.

Show Notes

Staff writer Samuel Hine reports straight from the runway shows, parties, and insider events on the international fashion circuit.

Hints at the size of Lagerfeld’s Chrome Hearts collection have surfaced over the years, but the full extent remains unknown. A 2007 New Yorker story described “tangles of Chrome Hearts necklaces, rings, buckles, clasps, pins, brooches” in one of his closets. Laurie Lynn recalls tables filled with Chrome Hearts at Lagerfeld’s Paris townhouse. The value of his collection likely reached millions of dollars.

Like the rest of Lagerfeld’s fortune, the whereabouts of his Chrome Hearts collection is currently unknown. When Sotheby’s auctioned thousands of his items in 2021, only a few Chrome Hearts pieces appeared. The Starks have tried to track down the rest, but after Lagerfeld’s death, Laurie Lynn says the collection simply “disappeared.” Several pieces are included in the Met Costume Institute’s Karl Lagerfeld exhibition, but they were lent by the Starks, not Lagerfeld's estate.

Amidst the Met Gala preparations, Laurie Lynn finds moments to remember Lagerfeld. One memory stands out: In 2007, Lagerfeld invited her to take his portrait in New York. Lagerfeld, almost never posing for other photographers, wore his usual sterling silver ensemble. The photograph shows him on a rooftop, leaning against a planter, a glass of diet soda in one hand, wearing a thatch of chains designed by Richard Stark. Lagerfeld cherished these chains, often wearing at least one with a diamond-studded clasp and his parents’ wedding rings hanging close to his heart.