The Associated Press

A German company is making a high-style teddy bear modelled on the Paris-based fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, right down to his white-collared shirt and jet black tie.

The Steiff company, which makes stuffed animals, got Lagerfeld's blessing to design the bear. It will be offered in a limited edition of 2,500, for about $1,550 Cdn per bear.

The bear will be available starting Sept. 15.

It is covered in alpaca wool and stands 40 centimetres tall. It will be decked out in clothes and accessories Lagerfeld himself approved: sunglasses, jeans and a belt buckle studded with his own initials.

Lagerfeld said in an interview released by Steiff that he had a teddy bear as a child.

"I really love animals, particularly when they are stuffed with cotton or polyester," said Lagerfeld, who grew up in Hamburg. "That way you can guarantee that they won't bite, won't claw, won't smell bad and make your things dirty."

But Lagerfeld said he is not likely to take the bear to bed. "I sleep totally alone, only with myself," he said.