Passion, genius, fashion icon, in a word Karl Lagerfeld.
The legendary designer and photographer died at the age of 85 in his beloved Paris, just a few hours before the Milan fashion week.
Born in Hamburg in 1933, the genius of fashion distinguished himself from a young age, winning in 1954 the newborn Woolmark Prize, a forerunner of fashion awards: to give him the victory of a coat.
Creative free lance and then at Chloé. From here began his troubled, but fortunate rise in the world of fashion. With the sisters Fendi soon became one of the family, the dressmakers of the Roman ateliers knew him and loved him from the beginning; his stubbornness and ambition in the world of creation led him to found in 1974 the brand, still in vogue, which bears his name.
In 1983 the turning point. Ten years after Coco's death, he was asked to take over the Maison Chanel. Karl, without hesitating, accepted the challenge. The result? managed to rejuvenate and bring the Maison back to success while maintaining its heritage. With him, Chanel once again became one of the points of reference for style and a status symbol. The shows were real exhibitions where art and beauty were the masters.
But his genius did not stop at creating garments. In fact, Lagerfeld's fame grew thanks to his passion for the camera. Famous his campaigns for Fendi and Chanel.
A voice out of the chorus, even when it came to being more "popular": it is to him that H & M entrusted the first collection created by a great designer in 2004, enjoying enormous success.
"Luxury is freedom of spirit, independence, in short, politically incorrect," said he, who donated a bit of self-irony, rigor and style to the world of haute couture.
Big black sunglasses, white hair gathered in an eighteenth-century ponytail, immaculate white shirt and rigorously black suit, this is how we will remember the most austere and always impeccable Karl Lagerfeld.
His legacy will go largely to Choupette, the beloved white cat. But the real heritage is the style and the creations that has given us in his career. Right arm for over 30 years, Virginie Viard will guarantee the continuity of the Chanel brand, as new designer of the maison.