Cover Karl Lagerfeld attends the Conde Nast International Luxury Conference at Palazzo Vecchio on April 22, 2015 in Florence, Italy. (Photo: Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images)
Karl Lagerfeld attends the Conde Nast International Luxury Conference at Palazzo Vecchio on April 22, 2015 in Florence, Italy. (Photo: Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images)
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Are your glasses on? Here’s a quick trip down memory lane as we remember some facts about the German fashion designer
If there’s a man who wears his numerous titles like a king to his crown (or a fashion icon to his favourite pair of sunglasses), it would be Karl Lagerfeld. From a fashion designer and creative director to an artist and photographer, Lagerfeld was a jack of all trades, a master of all. And behind these honours was a genuine, generous, and humorous person, too—according to his friends. It says in his tell-all on his website that his sharp tongue could deliver a wisecrack with perfect timing; he had always kept his promise to be an entertaining conversationalist. All these facts point to what he was as a person.
In case you missed it: Karl Lagerfeld Dies Aged 85
Big wigs behind MET Gala would agree, with the German designer being confirmed as the benefit’s main subject this year. As we await the coming event next week, here’s a quick trip down memory lane as we remember Lagerfeld’s significant milestones:
A man open to collaborations
Above (Photo: H&M)
(Photo: H&M)
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Karl Lagerfeld was the first high-fashion designer to collaborate with Swedish high-street retailer H&M, designing a collection that sold out on the first day of its release in November 2004. This success was the catalyst for future cross-brand collaborations to come.
He also collaborated with Italian house Fendi, well-known shoe brand Vans, even the beverage company Coca-Cola, and the stationary corporation Faber-Castell.
More from Tatler: Remembering Karl Lagerfeld: A Look Back
A man of awards
Above (Photo: Chanel)
(Photo: Chanel)
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In 2010, the Fashion Institute of Technology awarded the German designer the Couture Council Fashion Visionary Award. This was far from the first pool of prizes he had received, as he claimed one of his firsts for his coat design in the French International Wool Secretariat (now the International Woolmark Prize) in 1954.
Among his other awards were the Outstanding Achievement Award at the British Fashion Awards in 2015, the Grand Vermeil medal—Paris’ highest honour—in 2015, and more.
A man of pets—one in particular
There were many things Lagerfeld loved in the world, and one of them was Choupette, his Birman cat. The designer adopted her from Baptiste Giabiconi, one of his close friends and muses, in 2011. He had loved the feline since.
Choupette means “sweetie” in French, and Lagerfeld treated her like his biological child. Beyond being a companion, the feline also had a career as a model and muse for various beauty and fashion lines.
A man of movies
Above (Photo: Francis Apesteguy / Getty Images)
(Photo: Francis Apesteguy / Getty Images)
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Did you know? Lagerfeld appeared in Andy Warhol’s film L’Amour, some of which was filmed in the designer’s Parisian apartment. In the photo, Lagerfeld, who was at the centre, was photographed at Le Palace nightclub with a group that included Andy Warhol and Paloma Picasso.
L’Amour is a farcical comedy about two American hippies searching for love, rich husbands especially, in Paris.
In case you missed it: Did Anyone Know The Real Karl Lagerfeld?
A man of Fendi and Chanel
Above (Photo: Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images)
(Photo: Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images)
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Before his death on February 19, 2019, Lagerfeld had made major contributions to fashion through luxury houses Fendi and Chanel.
In 1965, he was offered the position of creative director at Fendi. He started by overseeing designs for fur lines, ready-to-wear collections, and accessories. Fast forward to 1983, and news of his appointment as artistic director of Chanel hit the airwaves, similarly taking control of their ready-to-wear, couture, and accessories.
Lagerfeld was and always will be a fashion visionary and legend, and he left an imprint in the industry upon his death. He left many works and words, one of which struck fashion enthusiasts: “Don’t dress to kill, dress to survive.”
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Angela Nicole Regis Guiral is the assistant digital editor of Tatler Philippines. She studied journalism and has since written features that look closely at how culture, lifestyle and social impact converge, while occasionally wandering into the worlds of style and travel.
