The fashion world is in mourning. Karl Lagerfeld has died at the age of 85. genius and undisputed protagonist of international fashion. The news was given by Vanity Fair France.
Stylist, photographer, tailor, style icon, famous for his suits and black glasses, he had been ill for several weeks. Not surprisingly, for the first time in decades, on January 22 he had missed the unmissable appointment with the Haute Couture fashion show by Chanel during Paris Fashion Week. A heavy absence that hadn't gone unnoticed.
Artistic director of Chanel and Fendi, Lagerfeld was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1933. Perhaps, because his date of birth still remains a mystery. The first approach to the world of fashion comes in 1949, when his mother takes him with her to a Dior fashion show. In 54 he moved to Paris and got his first job from Pierre Balmain. He never stopped: in 1962 he became the first freelancer in the fashion industry working between France, Italy, the UK and Germany and launched his own label. In 65 he began collaborating with Fendi. In '64 it was Chloe's turn.
In 1980 Lagerfeld, nicknamed "The Kaiser" founded his label, but the definitive consecration took place three years later, in 1983, when he became artistic director of Chanel, a maison to which he would link his destiny until his death. Famous his collaborations with low-cost brands such as H&M, a company for which he designed a limited edition collection in 2001. Since 2010 he has signed the Hogan collections for four seasons, for which he has rethought the classic models of the brand, sneakers and flats. In 2006 he launched a casual men's and women's collection, K Karl Lagerfeld, which included T-shirts and blue jeans.
“I like to consider myself a freelancer – he said – This word is the union of free, free as I've always wanted to be, and lance which recalls the French word lancé, as a coveted courtesan was once defined. I feel free and mercenary”.
