KARL LAGERFELD x Supertext: a collaboration in seven languages

With numerous shops and a global flagship store on KARL.COM, the brand reaches fashion fans all over the world. Its digital presence extends from Europe to Asia and the Middle East. The KARL LAGERFELD collections embody timeless chic and rock ’n’ roll coolness – whether in Paris, New York or Tokyo. And KARL LAGERFELD’s content team needs to convey the brand universe in a way that remains true to its style – in seven different languages.

Three things were required:

Linguistic expertise
The brand content team requires copy that inspires and moves its audience – so the translations needed to focus more on emotions than on replicating each individual word. In short: less translation, more creation.

Support with the style guide
Embodying the spirit of Karl Lagerfeld requires flawless style – even when communicating across seven languages. Brand codes needed to be created for each language, incorporating the existing tone of voice.

Consultation on technology and processes
The individual elements of various language projects needed to be centralised and the internal brand specialists’ expertise incorporated as efficiently as possible.

KARL LAGERFELD and Supertext began their collaboration in 2022. By the end of 2024, the brand and the language service provider have been collaborating in seven languages and have already successfully completed around 2,300 orders.

The content team orders creative marketing translations, also known as transcreations. The language professionals at Supertext don’t focus on translating each individual word, but provide a creative yet accurate interpretation of the message behind them for their target market.

For the multilingual brand DNA, the companies launched a joint style initiative – with the English tone of voice as the basis.

OUR TONE IS KARLISTIC:
SOPHISTICATED
TONGUE-IN-CHEEK

Excerpt from the KARL LAGERFELD brand code

The tone needed to be “Karlistic”. In other words, the brand wants to appear confident, inspiring and mischievous – across all its channels and in every language. In the first step, Supertext translated the style guide from English to French, Spanish, German, Polish, Japanese, Italian and Dutch. And, in collaboration with the local brand managers, it also developed comprehensive guidelines for global communication. These ensure that the KARL LAGERFELD brand identity is reflected in all markets.

For maximum control with minimum effort, KARL LAGERFELD uses LocalReview – the platform solution from Supertext for systematic translation approvals. Here, the brand managers can make direct changes, add comments, and approve the final translation – from headlines and multilingual video subtitles through to social media posts. The big advantage is that if adjustments are required, these are automatically integrated into Supertext’s translation memory and termbases. This means they can be reproduced in future orders if the same wording occurs again, which further increases quality in the long term.

After initial success, further optimisation is required, which is why the Quality Managers at Supertext regularly hold feedback discussions with the in-country specialists on the client side, monitor changes made in the LocalReview tool, update termbases and style guides, and ensure that all parties involved are always up to date with the latest information.