Early this morning, news broke that Karl Lagerfeld, creative director of Chanel and Fendi had passed away in Paris. He was 85.
Following Chanel’s Spring 2019 Haute Couture show, Lagerfeld was noticeably absent, and rumors of him being ill began to circulate. However, according to WWD, Lagerfeld was working until the very end.
Though Lagerfeld is most known for his revolutionary time at Chanel, which began when he joined the house in 1983, he was also the creative genius behind Fendi. In addition to his many other creative pursuits, Lagerfeld worked tirelessly on his own namesake collection.
Known for his ever-present sunglasses, sleek black suits and snow-white ponytail, Lagerfeld became as easily recognizable as the iconic Chanel logo which he reigned under. He was not just a designer or a creative director, rather he was and will forever be a celebrated pop-culture icon and one of the most well-respected creatives of our time. It’s impossible to measure the impact that Lagerfeld has had on the fashion industry. The news of his passing spread quickly as fans and industry insiders alike have begun to mourn the loss on social media.
Following the news of his passing, Chanel released an official statement via Instagram, which paid tribute to Lagerfeld. Though Lagerfeld can never be replaced, the brand announced that his closest collaborator Virginie Viard, who is currently the director of Chanel’s Fashion Creation Studio, would take the creative reigns for the collections. The statement reads that she has been appointed “so that the legacy of Gabrielle Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld can live on.”
His designs were unique and influential. He was a great designer and a complex man. One story I read is about his hands- In his youth, his mother told him he shouldn’t smoke because his hands were not elegant enough to hold a pose with a cigarette. It has been suggested, that insecurity is why he’s usually gloved in stock photos. Words matter. RIP Karl.
So sad. Such an inpact he made in the fashion world, and what a legacy he has left behind. Nothing would have been the same of it wasn’t for him. May he rest in peace.
I have been wondering, did he design for the cheaper Karl Lagerfeld brand too? I bought a t-shirt from that brand and I have been meaning to ask if that’s Karls design or someone elses/a design teams design?
He did! Between Chanel, Fendi, and his own line he was putting out upwards of 14 collections a year.
Wow, that’s a lot! Did I get it right what you, Eleanor, answered to Petra, he was part of the desig team at the label with his name? I always thought the name was just used to sell the designs, not that he actually designed that himself. I love that he was creating/co-creating those furry lite mini-me’s of himself. Haha.
KL wasn’t alone to design for Chanel. They have huge teams of designers for each brand. Entire studios devoted to put together collections.
Impact*
It will be interesting to see how Chanel evolves after the KL era.
Instantly recognizable.
Gone too soon, rest in peace, Mr. KL.
RIP. It would be really lovely to see a Karl Lagerfeld / Chanel bag retrospective post – he made so many iconic things for the label.
+1. I would love love love to see Purseblog do that.
He was a pompous ass who hated fat women and actively fat shamed models who worked for him. Gabrielle Chanel was a nazi sympathizer and Chanel was a brand built on antisemitism at the height of the shoah. As a Jew, all I have to say about his death is: good fucking riddance.
It is also February 19, the day the best person to grace my life came into existence: Happy 10th birthday to the little girl I have the honor of raising, you are so much kinder and more forgiving than me, and I hope the world doesn’t steal that from you baby girl.
I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Thank God I’m not!
Preach!!! He was not a nice person, and to me that is a million times more important than whatever he designed or peddled.
And happy birthday to your little one!
It took some research for me to buy Chanel. Coco Chanel was a piece of work (I’m trying to be nice). Her partner and co-founder was Jewish, and now that partner’s grandsons run Chanel- it’s Jewish owned. I refused to buy when she was alive, but now kind of enjoy the karma involved.
I totally respect your opinion and your right to buy what you feel is right. I do also think it’s interesting that even though it’s Jewish-owned, neither Coco Chanel nor the company ever took the blame or acknowledged her involvement in the Nazis. In fact, the company tried to excuse it in 2012 and do their best to rebrand Coco Chanel’s history and character. In other words, no one wants to lose any money. Chanel comfortably lived the rest of her life with no repercussions, and the company continues to charge $6000 for a handbag without ever doing anything to help those who suffered at the hands of Chanel’s lover’s Nazi friends and party.
I agree. My aunt worked for the Hebrew House as the head nurse in the 1930’s and 1940’s. She took care of freed elderly slaves and liberated concentration camp survivors who made it to the US after WWII. I was blessed enough to know her as an adult, and she passed on what the people she tended to told her. Stories I will never forget and can’t imagine experiencing.
Louis Vuitton was a Nazi “sympathizer”, though his son fought against them. Pope Benedict was a brown shirt, though the Catholic Church said he was ordained by God to lead the religion. So many wrongs, so many lives, yet these people lived out their lives without repercussions. It’s unfair, very unfair. All we can do is lead our best life and try to make a difference with our choices. I wish you the best and please believe me when I write, I took your comment to heart and understand your viewpoint.
M HG thank you for sharing. Can we know more about Louis Vuitton’s son involvEment in fighting nazis ?
He fought in WWII. He was a soldier. I think I remember correctly that one of his sons died in the war, fighting for France. But I know another was very anti-Nazi and was in the trenches. Louis Vuitton was what would’ve been considered a “coward” by some and/or a “sympathizer” by others. As far as I can remember, from my research years ago, the Hermès family was also anti-Nazi at that time.
I too did my research and I don’t know if she was so much a “sympathizer”, but more of a coward.
She was living and working in that time of tragic history that many people had no choice but to submit and defer to those Nazi bastards that would take your life or fuck your up if you didn’t. No excuses but I think people did what they had to do in order to survive. None of us know what it’s was like to live like that in those times.
My father was a POW for 2 years in a Nazi camp and survived it. I’m not a Jew but they came all through Europe and reigned unimaginable terror. (My dad had me when he was very old btw). Anyhow! Back to purses!
As for Lagerfeld, I don’t really care.
I think she deserves a little more culpability than just trying to survive and doing what she had to do. I think that’s a weak excuse for looking past poor behavior – no matter how trying times were, there was always someone who was willing to stand up and do the right thing.
Chanel was happy to use a Jewish man for financial support to expand her business, but when she realized she could make more money with him fleeing the Nazis, she hustled to the Nazis to seize her chance. She was elitist and greedy at best, and cared more about money than morals.
Chanel felt she was cheated by her Jewish partners. She felt that she did all the work and they exploited her through an unfair contract. She unsuccessfully tried to get the company back. She would not have liked Karl as she was not a fan of gay people and considered them deviants. That being said she is Chanel and she was an amazing designer with impeccable taste.
Her attitude back then sadly mirrors a lot of french attitudes you come across France and even Montreal. Most of the French for better or worse have really myopic view points on both slides of the aisle. It is very hard for them to be open minded. It is always one way and nothing else can be right. No one talks about it but there was a time the French government tried to stop Armani shows in Paris because they refused to concede an Italian doing such amazing work and ofcourse he was hard to compete with.
The French have given us some amazing things but there is also a lot of primitive notions they have to evolve through. Chanel mirrors that, a brilliant woman with primitive prejudices she had to overcome.
Oh Jack Neil do you even know French Resistance saved most of the Jewish people living in the country at the time ? Especially the children ? France saved much more Jewish people than Belgium for instance. Here’s a link for you : http://www.lefigaro.fr/livres/2018/12/12/03005-20181212ARTFIG00337–la-survie-des-juifs-en-france-1940-1944-des-mains-secourables.php
That does not change anything about the horrible reality of the Shoah, but saying French people do not care for anyone differing from them is insulting the efforts the résistants made during WWII and many of them lost their lives to save others’.
Besides I’ll gladly point out that during the Belle Epoque so many American and British artists and/or intellectuals fled to France to escape the narrow-minded culture you’d find in their countries, such as Oscar Wilde, Nathalie Barney…
France has historically Always been much more tolerant with queer people than England, for instance, you just have to look at Louis XIV’s musician Lully or François I’s protection of Leonardo da Vinci, or even Louis XV protecting Mlle de Maupin. Have you even heard of the Enlightment ?
And later in History, have you heard of Josephine Baker ? A queer black woman, who preferred to settle in France rather than going back to the U.S.A, so Strange.
France is not innocent regarding the WWII but you can’t just go and write “French people struggle to be open minded”, that’s such a petty and irrelevant thing to say.
Yes I do know. We all took history 101.
However next time actually read my response so you can properly answer it instead of rambling on.
The French do have problems with assimilation of immigrants way worse problems then the US. Numerous studies have been done on this and demonstrate why immigrants do better in countries like US and Canada. Including french speaking immigrants. Is it because there is no racism in the US? No we have a racist President and one of the most polarized countries in the world.
However North American culture is about work and “valuing” diversity more so than France. In France there is 1 image for beauty, 1 way of doing things and 1 way of thinking. There can never be several right answers just one.
It is embeded in the culture. It has less to do with racism vs a narrow minded view.
Oh so you regard American culture as “valuing” diversity when Americans tried to genocide Native Americans, still can’t acknowledge it and are experiencing a rise in hate crimes ? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/27/hate-crimes-america-cas-mudde
Besides, your own answer demonstrates the opposite of what you think you’re preaching.
Don’t bother to reply to me, I wasted enough time on you already.
I’m confused as to why you replied if you wanted the discussion to end.
Most of it is rhetorical, you know that.
If it makes you feel any better, I think Americans are as much trash as Europeans. I mean, a lot of us came from Europe anyhow.
I totally agree with you on that point.
It’s just it is really dangerous to over simplify a people or a culture to some clichés. It is especially dangerous nowadays when hate of others are rooted deep in governments’ hearts. Our words have impacts, even online.
On that note, I completely and wholeheartedly agree.
I didn’t exactly feel sad either….
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This flower is for you our ,,Karl Lagerfeld‘‘ Thank you for your wonderful artworks. May he rest in peace.
RIP. He was a wonderful artist who will be missed.
There will never be another designer like him. He was a visionary and a very unique individual. His story is a story of success and passion. He is a legend in his own right and was not swallowed by the shadow of Chanel. A very difficult feat. We have to remember designers like Hedi and Raf Simmons that pale in comparison to the legacy Karl has left at Chanel. As much as Chanel reminds us he was just the creative director, he was actually the modern Chanel. He took Chanel and forced Chanel to evolve and be a leader. I don’t know how they will command the prices they do without his creative genius driving the company. Thank you Karl for sharing your dream with us.
Karl was 85, RAF and Heide are barely into middle age lol this really isn’t a good comparison.
Briefly setting politics aside he was a creative, iconic designer that propelled Chanel into the forefront of the fashion industry. He will be remembered worldwide for the undeniable creative impact and influence he had on the House of Chanel.
Hopefully with his death, some of fashion’s acceptance of terrible misogynistic, anti-Semitic, racists can die too. xo.