Karl's Long-Lost Sister On Her Little Brother

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KARL LAGERFELD's older sister, Christiane Johnson, who he hasn't seen in more than 40 years, has spoken for the first time about the designer, asserting that she bears no ill will towards him for their lack of contact, conceding that he must be "really busy".The 83-year-old, who lives in Portland, Connecticut, revealed that Lagerfeld last visited her in the Seventies - arriving in a limousine which impressed the town's residents - but still writes to her to this day.

Comparing his relationship with the models that surround him to family in an interview last week, Lagerfeld clarified:"It's a choice, it's not an obligation.There's a big difference.I have a sister in America who I haven't seen for 40 years.Her children never even send me a Christmas card."But the grandmother-of-six has only good things to say about her little brother, and fond memories of their childhood in Hamburg.

1964 - The Kaiser began his career in fashion at Balmain in 1955 after winning the first prize in a competition organised by the International Wool Association.He went on to become art director at Jean Patou in 1958 before deciding on a career gap of two years in 1960.In 1962, he began his freelance career and worked with Mario Valentino, Repetto, Monoprix and Tiziani.He started designing for Chloé in 1964 and it wasn"t long before he was creating the full collection.Here, Karl is shown at work at Chloé.<A target="_blank" href="http://www.vogue.co.uk/celebrity-photos/090209-karl-lagerfeld-famous-quotes/gallery.aspx">SEE LAGERFELD"S BEST QUOTES</a>

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"As soon as he could hold a pencil he would paint," she told The Daily Mail."He would love to find old pictures and paint on the other side of the canvas.He liked to read, he was intelligent and thoughtful.He would be up in the attic painting while I was playing in the street.He was obviously artistic but to me he was just a kid brother."

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"I'm not angry, I know he's really busy," she said."He lives over there and I live here - it's just one of those things.I have the phone number for his kitchen but that doesn't do me any good.Then there's the six-hour time difference.He's knows I've got grandchildren.My children don't remember too much about him.They would like to meet him again - we all would...Things are complicated.You have to have an airplane to go to France and when they come here it's so programmed that he doesn't have time for anything.He's very busy - how else do you make that sort of money?You can only do so much."

Lagerfeld's most recent letter to his sibling ruminated over the pair's ages and what he has achieved:"I just cannot believe that you will be 83 and I will soon turn 81.Yet I am busier and more successful than ever.That is really incredible.Normally, people like me are retired for a long time but all of my deals, Chanel, Fendi etc, are for life."

"I read the stories about him in the papers but I don't pay attention to the negative things,' she said."He's my brother and I'm proud of his success."

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