艺术家帕特里克·乌尔卡德（Patrick Hourcade）在1976年认识了时装设计师卡尔·拉格菲尔德（Karl Lagerfeld），两人的友谊持续了20多年，他们对18世纪艺术的共同热爱让友谊更加牢固。在接受艺术史教育后，帕特里克·乌尔卡德加入了Vogue Paris的创意团队，同时，乌尔卡德是启蒙运动的狂热专家，他向卡尔介绍了启蒙运动的艺术。从那时起，他开始协助卡尔完成每一项奢华的收购——豪宅、家具、艺术品。两人一起建立了一个宏伟、精致而奢华的世界，特别是布列塔尼的城堡château de Grand-Champ，巴黎的府邸l’hôtel Pozzo di Borgo，法国里维埃拉的别墅La Vigie。帕特里克·乌尔卡德通过以前未发表的文件和一本独特的传记，讲述了他们共同的审美，揭示了卡尔·拉格菲尔德所有的辉煌和弱点。这个私密故事还介绍了对卡尔·拉格菲尔德非常重要的人物，包括Anna Piaggi, Francine Crescent, Laure de Beauvau, Liliane de Rothschild, Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent, Gilles Defour, Vincent Darré, Guy Bourdin, Andrée Putnam，以及最重要的，卡尔生命中的两位挚爱：他的母亲Elisabeth和Jacques de Bascher。

The artist Patrick Hourcade met Karl Lagerfeld in 1976, sparking a friendship that would last more than twenty years, strengthened by their shared passion for eighteenth-century art. Following his education in art history, Patrick Hourcade joined the creative team at Vogue Paris and, in parallel, he introduced Karl to the art of the Enlightenment, of which Hourcade is a fervent expert. From then on, he assisted the fashion designer with each of his lavish acquisitions―mansions, furniture, and works of art. The two built a magnificent universe together, refined and at times luxuriously extravagant, notably at the château de Grand-Champ in Brittany, l’hôtel Pozzo di Borgo in Paris, or at La Vigie, a villa on the French Riviera. Patrick Hourcade recounts the story of their aesthetic complicity, through previously unpublished documents and a unique biography in which he reveals Karl Lagerfeld in all of his splendor as well as his weaknesses. This intimate story introduces the colorful cast of characters who were important to the designer, including Anna Piaggi, Francine Crescent, Laure de Beauvau, Liliane de Rothschild, Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent, Gilles Defour, Vincent Darré, Guy Bourdin, Andrée Putnam, and, most importantly, the two great loves of Karl’s life: his mother Elisabeth and Jacques de Bascher.