There’s no denying that Karl Lagerfeld is abnormal. At 82 years old he helms three international fashion brands; Chanel, Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld. For Chanel alone he designs seven collections annually – two ready-to-wear (the latest of which will show at Paris Fashion Week today), two haute couture, one pre-fall, one resort and one Metiers d’Art. Not to mention shooting the corresponding campaigns himself.

While most his age are enjoying retirement, and most likely suffering from age-related ailments, Lagerfeld is jetting around the world as the most in-demand and influential man in fashion.

Not surprising, then, that scientists want to test his DNA – after all, his genes appear to contain the elixir to eternal youth, if not aesthetically then mentally and physically.

"I was asked by somebody to do this. Because they think I’m not normal,” he tells the November issue of British Vogue. “But I flatly refused. Unique pieces are unique pieces. But I think very flattering, huh? And also I was asked for skincare for men because they think I am remade. But I am not remade. I am all fake but not remade.”

He shows no signs of slowing down as his age increases; he's tied in to contracts with Fendi and Chanel until he dies (or perhaps we should say, if he dies). “I think I’m pretty lucky that I can do what I like best in perfect conditions. I don’t have to fight with anybody. You know my contracts with Fendi and Chanel are for life? And I don’t feel tired at all. I hate slow people. Horrible."

Even being alone – he has never married and does not have children, though does have a beloved pet cat called Choupette – doesn’t phase him. “If you are sick and old with no money then it must be hard, but in my case it is the height of luxury to be alone,” he says.

While the prospect of a fashion world without Lagerfeld is certainly a far less entertaining one, we expect death is far too boring for him and he'll no doubt find some way around the inconvenience.