PARIS (AP) – Karl Lagerfeld, the iconic couturier whose designs at Chanel and Fendi had an unprecedented impact on the entire fashion industry, died Tuesday in Paris, prompting an outpouring of love and admiration for the man whose career spanned six decades.
Although he spent virtually his entire career at luxury labels catering to the very wealthy – including 20 years at Chloe – Lagerfeld’s designs quickly trickled down to low-end retailers, giving him global influence.
The German-born designer may have spent much of his life in the public eye – his trademark white ponytail, high starched collar and dark glasses are instantly recognizable – but he remained a largely elusive figure. Such was the enigma surrounding Lagerfeld that even his age was a point of mystery for decades, with reports he had two birth certificates, one dated 1933 and the other 1938.
In 2013, Lagerfeld told the French magazine “Paris Match” he was born in 1935, but in 2019 his assistant still didn’t know the truth – telling The Associated Press he liked “to scramble the tracks on his year of birth – that’s part of the character.”
Chanel confirmed that Lagerfeld, who had looked increasingly frail in recent seasons, died early Tuesday in Paris. Last month, he did not come out to take a bow at the house’s couture show in Paris – a rare absence that the company attributed to him being “tired.”