The Creative Director Of Chanel Karl Lagerfeld Has Died At Age 85

In a statement read out after Lagerfeld missed the second show of the day, Chanel said: “Mr Lagerfeld, artistic director of Chanel, who was feeling tired, asked Virginie Viard, director of the creative studio of the house, to represent him.”

It was the first time the designer had ever missed giving a catwalk bow at the end of a Chanel show.

Paris Match reports that the 85-year-old was hospitalised on Monday night and died this morning.

Chanel confirmed Lagerfeld’s death this afternoon, paying tribute to the “extraordinary creative individual” who took over the house in 1983, ten years after the death of Coco Chanel.

CEO of the fashion house Alain Wertheimer said:

Thanks to his creative genius, generosity and exceptional intuition, Karl Lagerfeld was ahead of his time… Today, not only have I lost a friend, but we have all lost an extraordinary creative mind to whom I gave carte blanche in the early 1980s to reinvent the brand.

Wertheimer has said that Virginie Viard, Lagerfeld’s closest collaborator for 30 years, will oversee the creation of the new collections.

Celebrity friends and fans like Lily Allen, Victoria Beckham and Donatella Versace have also been sharing their memories of the designer.

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“You made me feel like a princess,” wrote Allen, who fronted several campaigns for Chanel in the 2000s. “I never quite understood what you saw in me but I am forever grateful for the support that you and Chanel have given me over the last 15 years.”