The loss of an icon

February 19, 2019

With deep sadness the House of CHANEL announced the passing of Karl Lagerfeld on Tuesday 19 February 2019, the Creative Director for the CHANEL Fashion House since 1983.

A leading creative and a household name, Lagerfeld has been paramount to the success of three houses over his lifetime: Chanel, Fendi and his eponymous label. Today, the industry mourns the loss of one of the most influential talents in fashion history.

The legendary creative director for Chanel and Fendi, a fashion icon by all measures and one of the industry’s most prolific figures in the industry, has passed away in Paris at the age of 85.

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.

The designer had been unwell for several weeks, and had missed a number of fashion shows. 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.

He began his long career with Chanel in 1983, a decade after Coco Chanel died. 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.”

Lagerfeld was known for his distinctive look in his later years, regularly wearing dark suits, a pony-tail and tinted sunglasses.

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 extraordinary 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.

What’s next…

Following the passing of Karl Lagerfeld on February 19, Chanel has named Virginie Viard as the next creative director of Chanel. Studio director since 1987 and the designer’s right-hand-woman, Viard will now be in charge of the artistic direction for the collections of the French fashion house.

The man whose name has been synonymous with Chanel since 1983 died today. It is Karl Lagerfeld’s loyal partner of over 30 years, and studio director of Chanel, Virginie Viard who has been named as his successor. Viard will be in charge of the creative work for the collections, from ready-to-wear, to haute couture. Chosen by Alain Wertheimer, CEO of Chanel, Virginie Viard has worked in close collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld since 1987 and will continue the legacy that both he and the founder of the fashion house, Gabrielle Chanel, left behind.

It’s the end of an era. Karl Lagerfeld, the most iconic face, hair, and personality in fashion, has died. He was 85. The designer behind his own eponymous line, Fendi, and of course, Chanel, always cut an imposing figure, with taste so impeccable that the whole world had no choice but to follow suit.

Since his words were always as deliberate as his designs, we’ve rounded up some of Karl’s most memorable, and most glamorous, quotes on life.

“Everybody should go to bed dressed like they have a date at the door.”

“A sense of humour and a little lack of respect: that’s what you need to make a legend survive.”

“People who do a job that claims to be creative have to be alone to recharge their batteries. You can’t live 24 hours a day in the spotlight and remain creative. For people like me, solitude is a victory.”