Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Karl Lagerfeld’s Right-Hand Man, Sébastien Jondeau

We’re just going to say it: Sébastien Jondeau has the coolest job in the world. And it might just be the craziest at the same time.

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For the unfamiliar, Jondeau is the private secretary of Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of fashion houses Chanel, Fendi and his own eponymous label. And recently, Jondeau shared all of the juicy details of his day-to-day duties, including working alongside the busiest man in the fashion industry with Harper’s Bazaar, and as expected, he’s got one crazy gig. Below, are 8 (of the many) reasons we wish we could double as Lagerfeld’s right-hand man.

1. Lagerfeld has been in his life since he was a boy.
“I’ve worked for Karl for more than 16 years, since I was 23, but I’ve known him since I was 15. My stepfather ran an 18th-century furniture business that I worked for sometimes, and Karl was a big collector. I was always asking Karl questions. He knows everything, and he was so much cooler than I was. I wasn’t stupid, but I was curious. I came from a place in life where you don’t really know that much.”

2. Lagerfeld’s hair is always like that.
“Whenever I’m with Karl, I drive his car. We have two Rolls-Royces: a black one in Paris and a blue convertible in Monaco. No, Karl’s hair doesn’t fly out of his ponytail in a convertible. It doesn’t move!”

3. Staying in Chanel-level shape doesn’t come easy.
“I run between six and 15 miles, depending on what other sport I’ve done that week. I’ve always been a good runner. The best time I did for 14 miles was one hour and 50 minutes.”

4. Sorry, ladies, he’s taken.
“My first conversation of the day is with my girlfriend [heiress Jenna Courtin-Clarins]. We don’t live together. We spend, say, two days at my home and a day at her home. We both travel so much, so we don’t see each other a lot. At least we have some mystery.”

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5. Gluten free is the way to be.
“For lunch I eat at the restaurant in [Parisian boutique] Colette at least three times a week. There’s a great mix of people at Colette — people from Paris, and people from the hood. I love that. I order an assiette verte [green plate]. Chicken, fish, grilled salmon. I don’t have a lot of gluten. And rice. I eat a lot of rice.”

6. His main objective is to keep Lagerfeld’s much-beloved kitty, Choupette, safe.
“…Choupette doesn’t have to worry about security. She never goes outside, unless she’s traveling with us. No risks for her!”

7. He’s the bad cop (a.k.a. “selfie bodyguard”), while Lagerfeld always plays the good cop.
“Most nights I have dinner with Karl. If we’re in Paris, we eat at his place or a restaurant, but we usually eat at his place because he’s not crazy about restaurants. It’s sometimes too public in a restaurant, but I’m there to calm people down. Karl is the nice one; I’m the bad one. He will talk to anyone: presidents, queens, cleaning ladies. But I have to keep him moving. Sometimes people from the press are too much — they are pushing, pushing, asking things. It’s like he’s an emperor.”

8. But at the end of the day, he just likes to have fun.
“On holiday, I’m with Karl in the South of France. It’s like 75 percent holiday. I do what I have to for him, then I’m doing bikes, motorcycle, jet skiing. I jump from the plane, you know? Now that I’m working and I have more money than I used to, I can have more toys. But it’s good to keep your head. In my world my head could inflate, I could forget where I’m from and what is the reality. Of course, I don’t live in the hood anymore. I live in a nice place in Paris. I am so lucky, you know? I never forget.”

Do you think you could ever do a job like Sébastien? Would you ever want to work in the fashion industry? Share below!

–Sarah Kinonen
Follow @sarahkinonen

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