Karl Lagerfeld Dies; Fashion Industry Legend was 85

Karl Lagerfeld is an absolute icon within the fashion industry.

Sadly, after weeks of reports that he was in poor health, Lagerfeld passed away on Tuesday morning.

The fashion juggernaut was 85 years old.

Karl had suffered health complications in January.

These troubles prevented him from attending the 2019 haute couture show in Paris on January 22.

However, rumors of his poor health were not initially confirmed.

Then, on February 18, his health took a turn for the worst, and he was admitted to the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

The next morning, still at that hospital, he passed away.

Lagerfeld’s specific cause of death has not yet been disclosed.

Thanks to Karl Lagerfeld’s talent, he designed extensively for three brands at once: Chanel, Fendi, and his own line, Karl Lagerfeld.

He is credited with reviving the Chanel brand, saving it and making it once again relevant.

There was a time when, perhaps in part due to Coco Chanel’s complicity with the Nazis, the fashion line was at death’s door.

Lagerfeld revived the line (a line which, by the way, is currently owned by a Jewish family — not big Nazi fans).

He took the reins at Chanel in 1983 in part because everyone had cautioned him to avoid doing so.

Oppositional reflex isn’t just for sled dogs. And Lagerfeld’s work and talent paid off.

Lagerfeld’s talents extend beyond the fashion world.

He remains well-regarded as both a photographer and as a director.

He is also a bestselling author — of a book whose subject matter may be surprising.

His book, The Karl Lagerfeld Diet, became a bestseller in 2005.

The book’s popularity arose in part as a result of his success after losing nearly 100 pounds in just 13 months.

The diet that he had undertaken to do so had been specially designed for him, but clearly other people were interested.

His weight loss goal was simply to fit in clothing designed for slender runway models.

Karl Lagerfeld was in a long-term relationship, beginning in the 1970s, with French socialite Jacques de Bascher.

The relationship continued until Jacques’ death from AIDS in 1989.

Beyond that, Lagerfeld’s most famous bond is arguably with his cat, a Birman named Choupette who is currently 7 years old.

Choupette has her on Twitter account.

Lagerfeld famously delighted in spoiling her.

Lagerfeld has also been a frontrunner in selecting models from dynastic families.

Lily Rose Depp, Sofia Richie, Sylvester Stallone’s daughter Sistine, and Kaia Gerber have all been tapped to work his runways.

He’s even had Kaia Gerber, who has certainly inherited her mother’s looks and talent, close out his runways.

However, Lagerfeld has been quick to dismiss the idea of considering his own “legacy” within the fashion world.

He says that he does not even like the word, as it reminds him of death.

However, he will always be a fashion icon, and his distinctive look — with or without a fan in hand — will endure.

Lagerfeld has also been controversial at times.

His use of fur prompted PETA to attempt to pie him at one time, though the pie missed and instead struck Calvin Klein.

Notably, he eventually incorporated fake fur into his clothing lines.

He has made disparaging remarks about Adele, calling her “too fat,” and also snubbed Heidi Klum, claiming that she was “too busty.”

Despite those unfortunate controversies, even his critics will mourn his passing.

Words cannot express what a loss this is for the world.

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