{"id":111510,"date":"2026-04-21T20:24:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T20:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=111510"},"modified":"2026-04-22T09:07:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:07:20","slug":"paris-hilton-karl-lagerfeld-2026","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/paris-hilton-karl-lagerfeld-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"GRAZIA Exclusive: Paris Hilton Was Early \u2014 Karl Lagerfeld Noticed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Paris
Paris Hilton at the Karl Lagerfeld Paris “From Paris, With Love” event in Herald Square. Photographed by Deonte Lee and Sancho Scott via BFA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Long before The Simple Life<\/em>, the catchphrases, and the caricature, Paris Hilton<\/a> was an 18-year-old in Paris, standing in a room at Valentino\u2019s house, waiting for Karl Lagerfeld<\/a> to walk in. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy first memory of Karl was when I was 18 in Paris for Fashion Week,\u201d the former GRAZIA<\/em> cover star<\/a> says. \u201cI remember he walked in, and I was so excited, because I had always loved him since I was a little girl.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

They met again soon after. \u201cWe did a photo shoot together, and he was just so kind and lovely.\u201d Then, as these things tend to go in fashion, their paths kept crossing \u2014 Paris, New York, Los Angeles. \u201cAnytime I would see him\u2026 we would always talk.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What she holds onto is not just the access, but the timing. \u201cKarl met me in the beginning. I was a teenager, I had not done The Simple Life<\/em> yet, and right away, we just connected.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never forget that he told me The Simple Life<\/em> <\/a>was one of his favorite shows.\u201d Lagerfeld, who spent decades redefining Chanel, Chlo\u00e9, and Fendi, had already taken notice \u2014 before the rest of the world decided what to make of her. Later, she would DJ his birthday party. \u201cSo epic, so iconic,\u201d she recalls, almost offhandedly.<\/p>\n

\"Paris
Paris Hilton at the Karl Lagerfeld Paris “From Paris, With Love” event in Herald Square. Photographed by Deonte Lee and Sancho Scott via BFA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Paris
Paris Hilton at the Karl Lagerfeld Paris “From Paris, With Love” event in Herald Square. Photographed by Deonte Lee and Sancho Scott via BFA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On April 20, that early recognition came back into focus. Karl Lagerfeld Paris celebrated its Spring\/Summer 2026 campaign<\/a>, “From Paris, With Love,” with Hilton as its face \u2014 staging a takeover that only really works in New York City. Herald Square filled with caf\u00e9 tables, coffee carts, and trays of pain au chocolat, anchored by a double-decker bus wrapped in the campaign at its center. By nightfall, Hilton had climbed to the top, DJing for the city goers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was flying over last night, I was doing my set the whole flight with a lot of Y2K songs,\u201d she tells us. \u201cI just wanted to bring the energy and play iconic songs for today.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hours earlier, GRAZIA USA<\/em> met her at the Waldorf Astoria<\/a>, already in full look: pin-straight blonde hair, bronzed skin, glossed lips, and a Karl Lagerfeld Paris bomber stamped \u201cPARIS\u201d across the back, styled with a scalloped skirt, heeled boots, diamonds, and, of course, sliving gloves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Hilton has worked with the brand before, but this time carries a different weight. \u201cIt was incredible to shoot it in Paris, where Karl worked and created all his collections,\u201d she says. Now, the images run across Paris, New York, and Los Angeles \u2014 cities that have long functioned as stages for both of them. On the drive to the Waldorf, she spots herself on buses along the route. The scale registers, but it doesn\u2019t surprise her. She knows what it means to be seen, and how long it can take to be understood.<\/p>\n

\"Paris
Paris Hilton at the Karl Lagerfeld Paris “From Paris, With Love” event in Herald Square. Photographed by Deonte Lee and Sancho Scott via BFA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is still a tendency to reduce her to a fixed idea \u2014 the heiress, the persona, the influencer. But that framing leaves out the rest: the business she built, the DJ career she continues to shape, and the advocacy work she has taken on with increasing seriousness. Lagerfeld, notably, did not make that mistake.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we\u2019re very similar in many ways,\u201d she lets us in on. \u201cI\u2019m honored to be part of this campaign and to represent Karl\u2019s legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The comparison holds. Both became figures others tried to explain, and both understood how to stay ahead of the explanation.<\/p>\n

She doesn\u2019t overcomplicate it. \u201cI am proud every day to be the woman that I am.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42743,"featured_media":111511,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[23,17,16],"yoast_head":"\nParis Hilton Was Early \u2014 Karl Lagerfeld Noticed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the face of the Karl Lagerfeld Spring\/Summer 2026 campaign, Hilton revisits her history with the designer before her DJ set takeover.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/paris-hilton-karl-lagerfeld-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GRAZIA Exclusive: Paris Hilton Was Early \u2014 Karl Lagerfeld Noticed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the face of the 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