Karl Lagerfeld Dead: Donatella Versace Leads Tributes To Chanel Creative Director

Tributes have poured in for Chanel fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. 

French media reported news of the creative director’s death at the age of 85 on Tuesday. 

Fellow designer Donatella Versace led the tributes on social media, praising his “genius” and “incredible talent”. 

Victoria Beckham said that Karl had always been “so kind and generous to me both personally and professionally”, as she posted on Instagram:

Henry Holland shared one of Karl’s most famous quotes as he posted on Twitter: 

Lily Allen said Karl had “made her feel like a princess” in a touching post:

Model and TV personality Alexa Chung recalled her first meeting with the creative director, saying it was an “honour to know” Karl when they became friends after she was sent to interview him. 

Many other famous faces and publications from the worlds of celebrity and fashion also shared their sadness as they honoured Karl online...

Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH – which owns Fendi – said: “With the passing of Karl Lagerfeld we have lost a creative genius who helped to make Paris the fashion capital of the world and Fendi one of the most innovative Italian houses.

“We owe him a great deal: his taste and talent were the most exceptional I have ever known. Artistic director of Jean Patou in 1959, creator of Fendi since 1965, member of the LVMH Prize jury since its creation in 2013, he honoured the LVMH group with an extraordinarily stimulating creative and entrepreneurial friendship.

“I will always remember his immense imagination, his ability to conceive new trends for every season, his inexhaustible energy, the virtuosity of his drawings, his carefully guarded independence, his encyclopedic culture, and his unique wit and eloquence.”

He added: “The death of this dear friend deeply saddens me, my wife and my children. We loved and admired him deeply. Fashion and culture has lost a great inspiration.”

Karl’s Instagram had also been updated an hour before news of his death first emerged, with a video about polka dot bags now having carrying hundreds of tributes from fans. 

His illustrious fashion career began in the early 1950s, when he started working as an assistant to Pierre Balmain.  

After stints at various fashion houses, he took over as Chanel’s creative director in 1983. 

Karl’s Chanel clothes have been worn by countless A-list celebs, including Cameron Diaz, Beyoncé and Emma Watson, while he designed specific outfits for Kylie Minogue and Madonna. 

The designer prompted health concerns in January, when he missed Chanel’s Paris haute couture shows, with another of the brand’s directors stepping in for him.

Prior to that, he made a public appearance in late November to switch on the Christmas lights on the Champs-Elysées.