The Legendary Creative Director & Fashion Designer Passed Away Today

Global fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld passed away today at the age of 85. The Chanel fashion house of Paris confirmed this news to CBS News on Tuesday.

It was reported by local media outlets that Lagerfeld had been admitted to the American Hospital of Paris on Monday. Speculation about his health started when the icon missed his first ever show last month.

Support Shown For Lagerfeld

The Godfather. #? pic.twitter.com/vFLpEQxZ8N

— Rihanna (@rihanna) February 19, 2019

A true LEGEND with a truly beautiful spirit; Thank you Karl for so many precious memories.. honored to have known you. With so much love and admiration, Mariah ♥️ #KarlLagerfeld pic.twitter.com/XZrzuQgC7b

— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) February 19, 2019

Karl Lagerfeld’s life in photos https://t.co/6iyjSdy2tv pic.twitter.com/4TPnxoR2iq

— CNN International (@cnni) February 20, 2019

Statement From Chanel

It is with deep sadness that the House of CHANEL announces the passing of Karl Lagerfeld, the Creative Director for the CHANEL Fashion House since 1983.

 

An extraordinary creative individual, Karl Lagerfeld reinvented the brand’s codes created by Gabrielle Chanel: the CHANEL jacket and suit, the little black dress, the precious tweeds, the two-tone shoes, the quilted handbags, the pearls and costume jewelry. Regarding Gabrielle Chanel, he said, “My job is not to do what she did, but what she would have done. The good thing about Chanel is it is an idea you can adapt to many things.”

 

A prolific creative mind with endless imagination, Karl Lagerfeld explored many artistic horizons, including photography and short films. The House of CHANEL benefited from his talent for all the branding campaigns related to Fashion since 1987. Finally, one cannot refer to Karl Lagerfeld without mentioning his innate sense of repartee and self-mockery.

 

Alain Wertheimer, CEO of CHANEL, said: “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. Today, not only have I lost a friend, but we have all lost an extraordinarily creative mind to whom I gave carte blanche in the early 1980s to reinvent the brand.”

 

Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Fashion at CHANEL, 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. He steadfastly promoted the talent and expertise of CHANEL’s ateliers and Métiers d’Art, allowing this exceptional know-how to shine throughout the world. 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’.”

 

Virginie Viard, Director of CHANEL’s Fashion Creation Studio and Karl Lagerfeld’s closest collaborator for more than 30 years, has been entrusted by Alain Wertheimer with the creative work for the collections so that the legacy of Gabrielle Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld can live on.

 

The House of CHANEL offers his family, relatives and friends its deepest condolences. – The House of Chanel 

Lagerfeld Life & Legacy

Lagerfeld is born in Hamburg, Germany in 1933. He often insisted that nobody was aware of his real birth date, claiming on the French TV channel France2 that he was “born neither in 1933 nor 1938.”

In 1947 at the age of 14, Lagerfeld made the decision to move to Paris, France. Seven years later he won a design competition at the International Wool Secretariat.

In 1960 his designs for the Spring/Summer season were known as the shortest to have ever been seen in Paris. The same year he went to take a two-year break from Paris to study life.

In 1965 he became the creative director for Fendi. Lagerfeld oversaw fur designs, ready to wear accessories and collections. Ten years laters Lagerfeld became the first to launch his own fragrance without having a label. The original scent was debuted for Chole.

1983 Lagerfeld is appointed the artistic director of Chanel. He created the well-known logo for Chanel by interlocking the two C’s.

Four years later Lagerfeld expanded to photography and decided to start shooting his own campaigns. His photography has since transformed into several art books.

2008 Lagerfeld had his name added to Le Petit Larousse Illustré, France’s most iconic dictionary.

2010 he was awarded The Fashion Institute Of Technology awards Lagerfeld with the Couture Council Fashion Visionary Award.

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