Karl Lagerfeld Heads Down Market

German haute couture designer, Karl Lagerfeld, may create a collection for Hennes and Mauritz, the successful Swedish retailer of budget fashion. H&M confirmed on Monday it is in talks with representatives for Lagerfeld, who also works for French luxury brand Chanel. It would be the first time a haute couture designer created a line for the low-cost retailer. According to the Swedish tabloid, Aftonbladet, Lagerfeld is demanding "gigantic sums" to have his name affiliated with H&M. The company has previously used famous models and actors to sell its clothes, with billboards featuring stars such as Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell and Johnny Depp. Founded in 1947 by Swede Erling Persson, Hennes and Mauritz has gone from a small Scandinavian retailer to one of the world's largest clothing chains over the past two decades with some 950 stores in dozens of countries.