'The Kaiser' Lagerfeld backs Hillary Clinton

Designer Karl Lagerfeld, the doyen of the fashion world known as "The Kaiser", gave his backing Tuesday to Hillary Clinton's US presidential campaign.

"They had the first black president, what they need now is the first women president. It has to change too," he told AFP after unveiling his latest collection for Chanel in Paris.

Asked if he would be actively supporting Clinton, Lagerfeld, 82, said, "There is nobody else to support anyway!"

The designer, who has spent most of his life in France, does not have a vote in either the Democratic primaries or in US elections.

Latest polls show that Clinton is pulling ahead of her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders for the party's nomination for the presidential vote later this year.

Lagerfeld is no stranger to the political fray, having labelled the French President Francois Hollande an "imbecile" in 2012 for his since watered-down plans to heavily tax the rich.

"Hollande hates the rich, it's a disaster, and he clearly wants to punish them," the designer said at the time, claiming that "beyond fashion, jewellery, perfume and wine, France was not competitive."