The Loss of a Legend

It has been a year since the passing of legendary fashion icon, Karl Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld was one of the fashion industry’s most decorated designers, having helmed Chanel since 1983. He designed Chanel's ready-to-wear and couture lines, his own label, and collaborated with Silvia Fendi to create Fendi’s ready-to-wear collections. Celebrated for his renaissance-like intelligence, Lagerfeld’s aesthetic was imbued with cultural and historical reference points. 

Born to a wealthy Hamburg businessman in Germany, the designer was also an impressive linguist, versed in German, English, French and Spanish. Initially educated at St Anne’s school, Lagerfeld completed his education at Lycée Montaigne as a result of  following his family’s emigration to France, where he focused on drawing and history.

Karl Lagerfeld was the most prolific designer of the 20th and 21st centuries and a man whose career formed the prototype of the modern luxury fashion industry. His passing was announced by Chanel, with which he had long been associated.

Having been creative director of Chanel since 1983 and Fendi since 1965, and founder of his own line, Mr. Lagerfeld was the definition of a fashion polyglot, able to speak the language of many different brands at the same time.

Anna Wintour, editor of American Vogue, quoted him as "The soul of fashion. Restless, forward-looking and voraciously attentive to our changing culture", when she presented him the Outstanding Achievement Award at the British Fashion Awards in 2015.

By Erica Pamela