Outside Chanel’s flagship store in Paris, fans of Karl Lagerfeld eft flowers and tributes to the fashion superstar within hours of the announcement of his death on Tuesday.
“He was a legend, a giant. He saved Chanel and reinvented the label,” 20-year-old former fashion student Mathieu Cipriani-Riviere told AFP, adding that he had come to the famous address on Rue Cambon to pay homage immediately on hearing the news.
“I’m so, so sad,” Yakin Benk, a tourist visiting Paris from Turkey, told AFP. “I have a lot of shoes, suits, shirts, glasses, all vintage.
“Like him, I came from Germany to learn in Paris,” she said. “Photo, fashion… He was crazily talented, he was cultured… how are they going to replace him?” she wondered.
“Thank you to the biggest master of fashion, pride of France and Germany,” it read.
“Chanel will not be Chanel without Karl Lagerfeld,” wrote Lanzoni.
Rumours of Lagerfeld’s ill-health had swirled after he failed to show up at Chanel’s January show in Paris for his customary bow.
He enjoyed the stature of a guru among mortals in the world of fashion, where he stayed on top for well over half of a century and up to his death.
The German designer was an accomplished photographer, who drew his own designs by hand, an increasingly rare phenomenon in fashion.
Behind the facade, Lagerfeld was known for his erudition and penchant for literature.
He also devoured the world’s leading newspapers daily.
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