Karl Lagerfeld, fashion’s quick-witted king, has died

PARIS — They called him the “Kaiser”, and for decades, Karl Lagerfeld, who died on Tuesday, reigned imperially over the fashion world. He was around 85 years old.

Such was the enigma surrounding the German-born designer that even his age was a point of mystery for decades, with reports he had two birth certificates, one dated 1933 and the other 1938.

From his perch at Chanel, the designer presided over the most famous of all fashion houses like the 18th-century absolute monarchs he modeled himself on.

With his powdered white pony tail, black sunglasses and starched high-collared white shirts, he was as instantly recognizable as his celebrity clients.

While others came to be associated with a particular look, Lagerfeld’s greatest invention was “Karl”.

He put himself at the heart not just of his own label, but also of Chanel and Fendi — the Italian house he headed for more than half a century.

Such staggering stamina and longevity in a world as ephemeral as fashion, where talents regularly crash and burn, added to the mystery this steely survivor loved to wrap himself in.

His waspish wit — “Anyone who wears jogging pants has lost control of their life” — added another layer of fascination and ensured he hogged the headlines even when his clothes did not.

A renovator rather than a revolutionary, his genius was for subtly, or sometimes not so subtly, updating classic luxury labels with street style influences.

His street-wise smarts sent Chanel sales surging to $10 billion in 2017 even as Lagerfeld entered the second half of his eighties.

“Karl doesn’t so much design as reign,” one fashion insider remarked.

Lagerfeld was one of the most hardworking figures in the fashion world, holding down the top design jobs at Fendi from 1977 and Chanel from 1983.

Indeed, his indefatigable energy was notable: He lost around 40 kilograms in his late 60s to fit into the latest fashions.

He shared his unmarried life in his Paris mansion with a cat called Choupette. “I hate when people say I’m ‘solitaire’ (or solitary),” Lagerfeld told The New York Times in an interview. “I have to be alone to do what I do. I like to be alone. I’m happy to be with people, but I’m sorry to say I like to be alone, because there’s so much to do, to read, to think.”