FAREWELL TO A FASHION ICON
FROM the suits, to the fingerless leather gloves, the dark glasses, white quiff and neat little ponytail, Karl Lagerfeld was one of fashion’s most distinctive characters. And as the outpouring of grief following his death, aged 85, proves, he was also one of its most loved.
German-born Lagerfeld, fondly known as “Kaiser Karl”, is revered for turning around the fortunes of the Chanel fashion house in the 1980s, revitalising Fendi and spearheading high street / high fashion collaborations as the first couturier to team up with H&M in 2004.
But the designer was as famous for his controversial comments as he was for his beautiful boucle suits and budgetbusting fashion shows.
He once said Princess Diana “was pretty and she was sweet, but she was stupid”, described sweatpants as “a sign of defeat… you lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants” and in 2012 he caused a furore when he said singer Adele was “a little too fat” despite being “beautiful” and having a “divine” voice.
Model/actress Jameela Jamil was quick to remind us of that barb this week, tweeting just hours after his death had been announced, that “a ruthless, fat-phobic misogynist shouldn’t be posted all over the internet as a saint gone-too-soon.”
In contrast Anna Wintour, editor of US Vogue, said that the world had “lost a giant among men” adding that Karl “was generous beyond measure, and he was deeply kind.”
Indeed ‘generous’ and ‘kind’ are words that come up repeatedly in the tributes from people like Donatella Versace, Tom Ford, Naomi Campbell and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Starting his career at Balmain, and following stints at Chloe and then
Fendi – he was the house’s creative director from 1965 until his death – Lagerfeld took the reins at Chanel more than 10 years after Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel died.
The fashion house called him “an extraordinary creative individual” who “reinvented the brand’s codes… the Chanel jacket and suit, the little black dress, the precious tweeds, the two-tone shoes, the quilted handbags, the pearls and costume jewellery.”
Chanel CEO Alain Wertheimer said he was “ahead of his time, which widely contributed to the House of Chanel’s success.”
Although there had been whispers about his health after he missed his bow at the end of the Chanel haute couture shows last month citing tiredness, Lagerfeld’s death, a fortnight before Chanel’s autumn/winter show is scheduled to take place at Paris Fashion Week, came as a shock.
That presentation will now be overseen by Virginie Viard. Lagerfeld’s ‘right-hand woman’ for more than three decades, the French fashion house announced her as his successor.
Of all the famous Karl quotes trotted out this week, I think my favourite is one he said about himself. “I am like a caricature of myself, and I like that. It is like a mask. And for me the Carnival of Venice lasts all year long.”
Now that carnival is over. RIP Kaiser Karl. The fashion world will be a duller place without you.