Karl Lagerfeld Dead: Donatella Versace Leads Tributes To Chanel Creative Director

Tributes have poured in for Chanel fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. 

French media reported news of the creative director’s death at the age of 85 on Tuesday, with it later confirmed on his Instagram page.  

Fellow designer Donatella Versace led the tributes on social media, praising his “genius” and “incredible talent”. 

Victoria Beckham said that Karl had always been “so kind and generous to me both personally and professionally”, as she posted on Instagram:

Henry Holland shared one of Karl’s most famous quotes as he posted on Twitter: 

Lily Allen said Karl had “made her feel like a princess” in a touching post:

Model and TV personality Alexa Chung recalled her first meeting with the creative director, saying it was an “honour to know” Karl when they became friends after she was sent to interview him. 

Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, also said in a statement: “I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Karl Lagerfeld.

“He has exerted an incredible influence over the fashion industry over the past six decades, and it goes without saying that the world has lost one of the greatest designers in the history of fashion. But it has also lost one of its greatest teachers.”

Many other famous faces and publications from the worlds of celebrity and fashion also shared their sadness as they honoured Karl online...

In a statement, a Chanel spokesperson said: “It is with deep sadness that the House of Chanel announces the passing of Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director for the Chanel Fashion House since 1983.

“An extraordinary creative individual, Karl Lagerfeld reinvented the brand’s codes created by Gabrielle Chanel: the Chanel jacket and suit, the little black dress, the precious tweeds, the two-tone shoes, the quilted handbags, the pearls and costume jewellery. Regarding Gabrielle Chanel, he said, ‘My job is not to do what she did, but what she would have done. The good thing about Chanel is it is an idea you can adapt to many things.’”

Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH – which owns Fendi – said: “With the passing of Karl Lagerfeld we have lost a creative genius who helped to make Paris the fashion capital of the world and Fendi one of the most innovative Italian houses.

“We owe him a great deal: his taste and talent were the most exceptional I have ever known. Artistic director of Jean Patou in 1959, creator of Fendi since 1965, member of the LVMH Prize jury since its creation in 2013, he honoured the LVMH group with an extraordinarily stimulating creative and entrepreneurial friendship.

“I will always remember his immense imagination, his ability to conceive new trends for every season, his inexhaustible energy, the virtuosity of his drawings, his carefully guarded independence, his encyclopedic culture, and his unique wit and eloquence.”

He added: “The death of this dear friend deeply saddens me, my wife and my children. We loved and admired him deeply. Fashion and culture has lost a great inspiration.”

Karl’s illustrious fashion career began in the early 1950s, when he started working as an assistant to Pierre Balmain.  

After stints at various fashion houses, he took over as Chanel’s creative director in 1983. 

Karl’s Chanel clothes have been worn by countless A-list celebs, including Cameron Diaz, Beyoncé and Emma Watson, while he designed specific outfits for Kylie Minogue and Madonna. 

The designer prompted health concerns in January, when he missed Chanel’s Paris haute couture shows, with another of the brand’s directors stepping in for him.

Prior to that, he made a public appearance in late November to switch on the Christmas lights on the Champs-Elysées.