Superstar fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has died, aged 85, in Paris following a short illness.
The German designer, who was the creative director for Chanel and Fendi, was one of the industry’s most prolific figures and worked up until his death.
His signature ponytail and dark glasses made him an instantly recognisable figure around the world.
Industry heavyweights, including Italian designer Donatella Versace, have issued heartfelt tributes.
“Today the world lost a giant among men,” the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, Anna Wintour, said in a statement.
Rumours of Lagerfeld’s ill health had swirled for several weeks after he missed a number of events – including Chanel’s spring/summer show last month.
He died on Tuesday morning after being admitted to hospital the night before, French media report.O
As a designer he transformed the fortunes of Chanel, one of the leading names in high fashion, but his work also filtered down to the high street.
Away from his work, Lagerfeld made headlines for a range of provocative, and sometimes offensive, statements.
Members of the fashion industry have been lining up to praise Lagerfeld’s work.
Donatella Versace said his genius had “touched so many” and was a source of inspiration for her and her late brother. e
RAnna Wintour described the designer’s “creative genius” as “breathtaking”.
“Karl was brilliant, he was wicked, he was funny, he was generous beyond measure, and he was deeply kind. I will miss him so very much,” her statement went on.
Chanel’s Chief Executive Alain Wertheimer credited Lagerfeld for transforming the brand since he joined in 1983.
“Thanks to his creative genius, generosity and exceptional intuition, Karl Lagerfeld was ahead of his time, which widely contributed to the House of Chanel’s success throughout the world,” he said in a statement.
It has been announced that Virginie Viard, his deputy at fashion house Chanel, will succeed him as creative chief.
Pier Paolo Righi, his own fashion brand’s CEO, described him as a “creative genius”.
“He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy as one of the greatest designers of our time,” a statement from the House of Karl Lagerfeld said.
Celebrities including Victoria Beckham, actress Diane Kruger and models Gigi and Bella Hadid have also paid tribute. d
He was born Karl Otto Lagerfeldt in 1933 in pre-war Germany. Lagerfeld changed his original surname from Lagerfeldt, because he believed it sounded “more commercial”.
He emigrated to Paris as a young teenager, and became a design assistant for Pierre Balmain, before working at Fendi and Chloe in the 1960s.
But the designer was best known for his association with the French label Chanel.
He began his long career with the fashion house in 1983, a decade after Coco Chanel died.
Lagerfeld’s designs brought new life to the label, adding glitz to the prim tweed suits the couture house was known for.
The designer worked tirelessly, simultaneously churning out collections for LVMH’s Fendi and his own label, up until his death.
He also collaborated with high street brand H&M – before high-end collaborations became more common.
Lagerfeld was known to encourage new designers, like Victoria Beckham – who has praised him for his kindness. m
RLagerfeld’s own look became famous in his later years – wearing dark suits and leather gloves with a signature white pony-tail and tinted sunglasses.
Lagerfeld said of his appearance: “I am like a caricature of myself, and I like that.”
As one of the most prolific and admired designers of modern times, Lagerfeld’s influence on the fashion industry is unparalleled. Known fondly in fashion circles as “the Kaiser” thanks to his German heritage, he was famously uncompromising in his design vision, once declaring: “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants.”
In January he missed the Chanel haute couture show in Paris, fuelling speculation about his health. According to reports, he was admitted to the American hospital in Paris on Monday night. The cause of death is not yet known.
The designer Donatella Versace posted a photograph of herself and Lagerfeld on Instagram, writing: “Karl your genius touched the lives of so many, especially Gianni and I. We will never forget your incredible talent and endless inspiration. We were always learning from you.”
Born in Hamburg in 1933, Lagerfeld began his career as an assistant to Pierre Balmain in 1955 and joined Chanel in 1983, spending 36 years at the house. In the interim, he has also held long-term design positions at the Italian house Fendi, the French house Chloé, and established his eponymous brand.
He is credited with reinventing Chanel, taking it from a small house to an industry leader. In 2017 the house released financial figures for the first time, revealing it had made £1.35bn the previous year.
Bernard Arnault, the chairman and chief executive of LVMH, which owns Fendi, called Lagerfeld “a creative genius who helped to make Paris the fashion capital of the world and Fendi one of the most innovative Italian houses”.
“We owe him a great deal: his taste and talent were the most exceptional I have ever known,” said Arnault, adding: “I will always remember his immense imagination, his ability to conceive new trends for every season, his inexhaustible energy, the virtuosity of his drawings, his carefully guarded independence, his encyclopaedic culture and his unique wit and eloquence.”
The French interior minister, Christophe Castaner, told French radio Lagerfeld was “an immense and extraordinary personality” who represented “a kind of French artistry”
Sophie Fontanel, a fashion critic at the French weekly L’Obs, said: “Wherever you go, if you show his face, people recognise him, it was like the pope, or maybe even more than the pope.”
Over the years, Lagerfeld’s personal style became as famous as his designs, confirming his status as a cultural icon. His ice-white ponytail, dark sunglasses and black leather gloves became his style signatures, as did his black tailored suits. His favourite was the slimline style by the designer Hedi Slimane while he was at Dior. In another famous quote he once said: “I lost 200lb to wear suits by Hedi Slimane.”
While Lagerfeld had many friends, he kept his personal life private. His most famous companion was his cat, Choupette, who the designer made into a celebrity pet, complete with its own Instagram account.
Not one to shy away from expressing his opinion, Lagerfeld often found himself at the centre of controversy. In 2017, he sparked outrage by evoking the Holocaust as he attacked Chancellor Angela Merkel for opening Germany’s borders to migrants.
Despite his declining health, Lagerfeld kept tight control of his work. He was scheduled to be present for fittings this week for the Chanel womenswear show on 5 March – indicative of his lifelong work ethic.
“I hate leisure,” the designer told Women’s Wear Daily in 2008, “except reading. I’m really a person made to work, if sketching is considered work. I’m pretty lucky to be doing what I’m doing in beyond-perfect conditions.”
At the couture show in January his long-term righthand woman, Virginie Viard, appeared hand-in-hand with the season’s couture bride to greet the audience, at Lagerfeld’s request to “represent him”. Chanel confirmed on Tuesday that Viard “has been entrusted by [Chanel chief executive] Alain Wertheimer with the creative work for the collections, so that the legacy of Gabrielle Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld can live on”.
The brand’s president of fashion, Bruno Pavlovsky, said: “Fashion show after fashion show, collection after collection, Karl Lagerfeld left his mark on the legend of Gabrielle Chanel and the history of the House of Chanel. The greatest tribute we can pay today is to continue to follow the path he traced by – to quote Karl – ‘continuing to embrace the present and invent the future’.”
BBC/THE GUARDIAN