Chanel designer and casino operator say 270-room hotel in Chinese gambling enclave will open in 2017

Karl Lagerfeld with Cara Delevingne at his Chanel show in Paris this week. Photograph: PLV/Sipa/Rex

Karl Lagerfeld and a Macau casino operator have announced plans for the Chanel designer to create his first hotel.

The 270-room Karl Lagerfeld hotel will open in 2017 in a 20-story tower in the gambling enclave in southern China, according to Lagerfeld and Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM).

"An entire hotel designed by me. It's the first time for me. I think the idea is great," said Lagerfeld in a statement.

The announcement comes after Lagerfeld startled visitors to Chanel's fashion show in Paris this week by holding the event in a full-scale re-creation of a supermarket with Chanel-branded groceries.

The Lisboa Palace complex will also include a Versace-themed hotel designed by the Italian fashion label and announced by SJM in September.

The announcement gave no financial details.

SJM was founded by the tycoon Stanley Ho, who held a monopoly on gambling in Macau until 2004. Ho transferred most of his 32% stake in SJM's parent company, Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, to his relatives in 2011.

Macau – the only place in China where gambling is legal – received about $38bn in gambling revenue in 2012, about six times the revenues of the Las Vegas Strip.

Competition has intensified as rivals including Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International have opened casinos.

Lagerfeld is chief designer for the Chanel and Fendi fashion houses and also has his own label. He has also designed a can for Diet Coke. The Macau hotel is being developed under his own brand, Karl Lagerfeld Greater China.

The complex in Macau's Cotai neighbourhood will have casinos, restaurants and shopping and more than 2,000 hotel rooms, according to SJM.


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