The Emperor's New Clothes (Novoye Platye Korolya)

'The Emperor's New Clothes' is one of Hans Christian Andersen's most famous fairy tales. It tells the story of two clever tricksters who set out to deceive a dim-witted king and his courtiers. They promised to weave silk of astonishing, unprecedented beauty, but only those who truly deserved their place would be able to see it. Imagine the surprise of the king and all his ministers when none of them could discern the fabric the wily rogues had supposedly woven. But neither the king nor his courtiers would admit, for anything in the world, that there was no silk on the looms. Only a little boy, seeing the king, who was marching down the street at the head of his courtiers in his new attire, cried out loudly what everyone else had seen: the king was naked! Andersen thus ridiculed foolish, arrogant rulers who generously hand out gold and rewards to all manner of scoundrels. Of course, the famous couturier Karl Lagerfeld, who for a long time headed the legendary fashion house Chanel, couldn't ignore this tale—the king of fashion and master of style simply had to create a royal collection. His king, dressed in Louis XIV-style suits, is as much a trendsetter as today's top models, and this book can be flipped through and examined like a fashion magazine.