Remembering Karl Lagerfeld

PARIS — Like many complex and forceful people Karl Lagerfeld — the German-born and Paris-based designer who, until his death in February, had been creative director of Chanel since 1983 and Fendi since 1965 — was one person to the wide world and another to his friends.

Concealed behind the armor Mr. Lagerfeld wore in public — dark glasses, tight black jeans, ponytail whitened with imported Japanese powder, fingers barnacled with Chrome Hearts rings — was a man who in reality spent many of his adult years living with his mother and later (and more publicly, until his death at 85) with his Birman cat, the feline Instagram star Choupette.

“Karl liked the recognition,” Amanda Harlech, a British aristocrat who was the designer’s creative helpmate for decades, said on Thursday before a memorial sponsored by Chanel, Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld, the brand. More than 2,500 invited guests assembled on a gusty summer evening inside the monumental cast-iron and glass cathedral that is the Grand Palais, natural light still filtering in well into the night on the cusp of the solstice. “Karl would say, ‘The whole world recognizes me, but they don’t know me at all’,” Ms. Harlech said.

Source: The New York Times

Powered by NewsAPI.org

Keywords:

Karl Lagerfeld • Paris • People (magazine) • Karl Lagerfeld • Germans • Paris • Fashion design • Creative director • Chanel • Fendi • Sunglasses • Ponytail • Ring (jewellery) • Man • Death • Birman • Cat • Instagram • Choupette • Amanda Harlech • Creative director • Helpmate • Chanel • Fendi • Karl Lagerfeld • Brand • Cast iron • Grand Palais • Sunlight • Solstice •