Fashion icon and designer #KarlLagerfeld dies

Karl Lagerfeld, the eccentric German designer who blended fashion and art, who favored white hair, black sunglasses and 19th-century-style shirt collars, and simultaneously was creative director of French (Chanel), Italian (Fendi) and eponymous international fashion labels, has died. He was in his 80s. One of the most celebrated, if controversial, fashion icons of the 20th and 21st centuries, Lagerfeld passed away early Tuesday, Chanel told The Associated Press. On Jan. 22, 2019, Lagerfeld worried fans when he did not come out to take a bow at Chanel's couture show in Paris, which the company attributed to fatigue. It was the first time in recent memory that Lagerfeld, who has designed for the house since 1983, did not come out to receive applause at the end of one of his shows. His studio director, Virginie Viard, appeared in his place, emerging from the door of a lavish Italian "villa" that was the set painstakingly created by the house to showcase its spring-summer designs. Chanel told The Associated Press that Lagerfeld asked Viard to represent him because he "was feeling tired," but did not provide any further details. Never shy about his own genius, Lagerfeld considered himself world renowned for his "cutting-edge, aspirational and relevant approach to style," with a fashion sensibility "rooted in a DNA that’s accessible-luxe and cool," and a "signature aesthetic combining timeless classics with a modern, rock-chic edge," according to his website. "His visionary creativity expands beyond fashion to include illustration, photography, styling and publishing." "Edgy" might be a better one-word summary of Lagerfeld – the man, his fashion and his art. He designed clothes that made people gasp with delight; he said things that made people gasp with shock.

• 2019-02-19T19:13:48+00:00
• Duration: 00:51

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