T Magazine: Karl Lagerfeld, Remembered by His Friends and Collaborators
The late Chanel designer’s peers — including Florence Welch, Carine Roitfeld and Donatella Versace — reflect on his wit, generosity and boundless talent.
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Karl Lagerfeld, who died Tuesday, was a rare and powerful constant in the notoriously changeable fashion world. During his 36-year tenure at Chanel, where he became the creative director in 1983, he solidified the conventions of modern ready-to-wear — with its round-the-year collections, high-low mix and celebrity affiliations — and established the French luxury house as a multibillion-dollar global empire. He also forged his own unchanging persona as fashion’s erudite emperor, always dressed in a high-collared white shirt with a powdered ponytail and possessed of equally mythic foibles, such as his limitless devotion to his cat Choupette and his collection of 300 iPods. While Lagerfeld held positions at multiple houses during his career, including Chloé and Fendi, he became what Andrew O’Hagan described in a 2015 cover profile for T as “a freelance personality with a strong conception of himself that exists beyond the labels he represents.”
Yet, for all his consistency as a public figure, Lagerfeld’s creative genius, especially at Chanel, was his sensitivity to the changing currents of fashion and his ability to anticipate fluctuations in the culture at large. There is no better illustration of this than the ever-expanding circle of powerful and free-spirited women with whom he chose to surround himself. Like a director casting leading ladies, Lagerfeld anointed Chanel women who embodied his vision of the era: Inès de la Fressange and Jerry Hall in the ’80s, Amanda Harlech and Stella Tennant in the ’90s, the singer Lily Allen in the 2000s, the model Cara Delevingne in the 2010s and most recently the musician Willow Smith and the actress Lily-Rose Depp. These women, who starred in Chanel’s ad campaigns, walked its runways and, in some cases, worked closely with Lagerfeld behind the scenes, have also remained remarkably loyal to the brand, and to Lagerfeld himself. As he told T earlier this year, “Chanel women follow fashion — but they stay Chanel.” Here, Karl Lagerfeld’s friends, fans and collaborators share their memories of the legendary designer.
Inès de la Fressange, former face of Chanel and muse to Lagerfeld
“We met 40 years ago at Chloé. Each time I was going there as a model, I wouldn’t get booked, but once Karl was in the entrance by chance and told me, ‘Oh finally, you come to see me!’ He didn’t know I had been coming each season. I remember that mixing clothes and putting accessories together for the few days before the shows was fun — sometimes going late into the night, eating cold sausages! He was the first one to tell me I could become a designer. He was looking at my drawings and explaining how I could make them better. I often say I had the best teacher at the best school: Chanel. He was a teacher, a mentor, a friend. I will miss his sense of humor and hilarious quotes. Also, he was an encyclopedia of fashion and the history of costume, never nostalgic but with a huge culture. Frivolity and happiness is missing in fashion, so it’s a very sad day for me.”
Florence Welch, singer, who performed at Chanel’s spring 2012 show
“I remember I was very nervous to meet Karl, but he was so kind and funny and generous. The thing that amazed me was that we sat in his studio and scrapbooked all his ideas for my performance in an hour or so. His walls were covered in books, and he was tearing pages out of them and making a mood board with a glue stick (still in the leather gloves, obviously). It was so fast and fun, he had all his ideas for what I should do at the show and our shoot together within minutes. But I have very fond memories of that little arts-and-crafts moment that led to me coming out of a giant clamshell at the Grand Palais in Paris. It was an extraordinary experience, especially for a new artist. And I will always be grateful to him.”
Soo Joo Park, model and Chanel global ambassador
“I first met him during the fall 2013 couture show. Virginie Viaird (Chanel’s studio director who was named as Lagerfeld’s successor) saw me and booked me as an exclusive for the couture show. When he saw me, he smiled and said, “Sublime.” After the show, he took pictures of me and I sent him flowers and a hand-drawn card as a token of my appreciation. A couple of weeks later when we worked together again, he thanked me for the drawing and showed me that he had it in his journal. I studied architecture before I started modeling, but I never thought I would receive compliments like that. He would always encourage young talent and up-and-coming designers to be creative and be unique. That’s why I admire him so much. Despite his reputation, he never lost the appetite and curiosity for young talent.
“I walked 32 shows for Chanel so it became a family affair. I can’t express how I feel about becoming a global ambassador. The cruise show in 2015 was set in Seoul — I’m a Korean American and I feel responsible in a way to create an image not only for Chanel to Korea, but also for Korea to Chanel. Karl was always very decisive and he didn’t like to look back. I learned a lot from that, because I’m a perfectionist and like to obsess over details. He taught me that in order to prolific you have to let things go. I’m going to miss his spirit, his presence, his sunglasses, his voice, everything!”
Caroline Sieber, stylist and brand ambassador for Chanel, who got married in a Chanel wedding dress in 2013
“What a privilege to have known him, and what an honor to have worn his creations for the better part of the past 12 years. He was witty, funny, wise and endlessly inspired. Always alert, effervescent and with his finger on the pulse. Restless, he spoke so quickly in German that I had trouble following despite it being my mother tongue. Kind and attentive with an encyclopedic memory, he never forgot a face or detail. We first met when I was 16 in the South of France, and he recalled our conversation to the smallest detail when we were reintroduced years later. For my wedding dress, he referenced a haute couture dress created the year I was born from memory (incidentally, the year of his debut haute couture collection for Chanel). He shaped my understanding of chic with his punchy elegance that was always contemporary and ultimately refined.”
Cat Power, singer, who performed at Chanel’s spring 2007 show and was the face of Chanel fine jewelry
“Karl was a true magician. Under his shades and costume, he was bursting with a huge heart. Protective, poetic, a gentleman with a fierce generosity and a fire for surprise and hilarity, and Jesus, what a laughter! A true romantic with many stories to tell — all witty, all vulnerable, all directly open, consistently sharing himself. The times I spent with him over these years, it felt like being with a beloved family member, it felt easy and real, without pretense.
“From the moment I met him, it was clear he may have been the stuff of legend, but he was a kindred spirit. Karl was an artist, and who knew where he came from. Having that in common, with so many of us, whenever he took the floor, he was never alone, we were all with him.
“My favorite gifts from Karl are not from Chanel. But my favorite gifts from Chanel are all the black fingerless gloves and the black silk scarf-tie I wore around my neck in a floppy bow, with the gloves on my hands during some of my favorite touring live performances of my entire career. It was part of my signature look for a couple years. He loved that I wore the gloves, he used to tell me about his mother and how he wanted to learn to play the piano and why he wears gloves, but that I’ll keep secret.
“The entire connection with Chanel as a brand is magic as well. It’s a symbol, a promise of fine art, that with Karl, and the incredible, amazing team around him, he was able to consistently deliver what is needed to truly define a great artist — to create a world within a world. And Karl, at Chanel, delivered that to the world.
Delfina Delettrez Fendi, jewelry designer, who grew up around Lagerfeld, the creative director of her family’s brand, Fendi
“Karl has always been part of my life. Since I was born, his creative flow and amazing presence has been an example to follow and a great source of inspiration. I will not only miss the great artist but also a friend I had the privilege to know. His genius and his intellectual sense of humor will be incredibly missed.”
Joan Juliet Buck, writer, actress and former editor in chief of Vogue Paris from 1994-2001
“I met Karl in 1971 through Antonio Lopez. At the time, he was a freelance designer. We immediately got on really well because we talked about books. He gave me all 18 volumes of the correspondence of George Sand. I remember dancing the tango with Karl at Eric de Rothschild’s party in ’71 — he was a really good dancer! It was the best tango I ever danced. I also introduced him to Anna Wintour in 1985 — I seated them together because I wanted to sit next to Pierre Bergé.
“I got married because he said he would make me the wedding dress, which is now at the Metropolitan Museum. It wasn’t a wedding dress as such but an antique mauve riding habit complete with a tricorn hat. He would fly me to Paris from London to pick the fabrics. It was a long, rich wonderful friendship, but when I became editor at French Vogue, it became complicated, and I saw him less and less. But I still have hundreds of letters from him because he loved writing them. What I will remember is his curiosity and these giant tables full of books. I used to stay with him in Paris, and he would stay up all night drawing. It was a friendship based on drawing and reading constantly.”
Donatella Versace, fashion designer
“Today, the world has lost an icon and a genius. We will always remember his amazing talent, which taught us all throughout the years. We will miss you.”
Deeda Blair, medical philanthropist, patron of Chanel and friend of Lagerfeld
“I was very fortunate to know the house of Chanel — I had one beige tweed suit from one of the last collections of Mademoiselle Chanel and one coat and skirt during the in-between years. Then came Karl, who I feel can only be described as unique. I loved it from the moment of his first collection. The first dress I owned was a glorious long dress of navy cloque with a train worn with a pearl necklace that swept across from shoulder to waist to a matching belt. It became a criteria whenever I chose from his collections that I would have to feel ‘I could not live without it.’
“A very special moment was a small lunch in Paris at Karl’s in the early days of the AIDS pandemic. After lunch people drifted away, but I lingered with him until nearly 5 p.m. going through scrapbooks with photos of a life and a friend he had lost, and that was the only time he spoke of the past.
“Always we had zigzag conversations, which I loved, discussing everything from 18th-century treasures to baskets and flowers and travel and science. That was perhaps the greatest enigma to me — there was no talk of the past but always a vision beyond, plus his world of books. In his house on the Rue de l’Université, there was a long room with a very long table with nothing but stacks of books, the whole table and floor had crashed through to the ground below. For anyone else it would have been high drama, but for Karl it was barely mentioned. He went on to open a bookstore with unusual books from all over the world and created a huge hi-tech photography studio.”
Carine Roitfeld, fashion editor and stylist, who collaborated with Lagerfeld on various projects, including the book “The Little Black Jacket: Chanel’s Classic Revisited”
“Karl was my rock. He’s always been there for me, through years of friendship and creation. His sense of humor, words of advice and the precious memories of this time spent together will never leave my thoughts. Karl was truly once in a lifetime, my eternal guardian angel. I will always miss your love!”
Ralph Lauren, fashion designer
“Karl Lagerfeld was the definition of passion; it fueled both his life and his craft. His curiosity about everything from history to pop culture inspired him to dream big and create collections that captured a rare kind of imagination that had influence way beyond the world of fashion. He was the modern couturier committed to the artistry of those traditions, but always with an eye for everyday life. Karl was an inspiration, but more than that, my personal friend and always a generous supporter. I think more than anything, he brought a spirit to fashion that was energetic and alive, a belief in both the dream and the reality.”
Gaia Repossi, creative director of Repossi
“My mother was a fervent admirer of the elegance of Chanel way before me and wore every single ’90s statement suit or dress and accessories very beautifully. She is the one that introduced me to its world. Karl’s approach to luxury was a sensational equation of elegance and dream. And a true example for us proposing our contemporary vision of luxury to the market. His vision of elegance and luxury were closely intertwined, and I will never forget watching my first Chanel couture show. Later on, he was the first person to support me, encourage me, come to my events and presentations throughout the years, purchase our items and wear them and tell me without hesitation, ‘You were born into this, go for it, it’s your time, your turn. I don’t like what others do, but you, c’est très chic.’ Or when I would wear one of his suits or outfits and see him backstage of his show after a big kiss ‘Vous êtes chic comme ça!’ I will miss him tremendously.”
Giorgio Armani, fashion designer
“I’ve always thought of Karl Lagerfeld as an extraordinary man, both for his professional talent and his life, which he blended and turned into a unique art: the Lagerfeld way of being. Maybe this was also the reason that, although he was designing for brands with a strong personality, his presence came through so evident and recognizable that it always exuded the joy he experienced when designing, photographing, working on books and setting up spectacular fashion shows. I am deeply affected by his passing and can’t help but think that he lived until his last breath immersed in his biggest pleasure: letting his imagination fly through his work. I remember meeting him many years ago in Tokyo, at a fashion show for a number of international designers. I will never forget the kindness with which he welcomed me into this important group.”
Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni, writer and author of “Chanel,” a three-volume set published by Assouline
“I worked at the Chanel studio in ’89 — I was there for 18 months. It was the time of supermodels — a very heady time. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t speak any French. I learned French fashion through Karl. Karl was so kind. When I was fired by American Harper’s Bazaar in 2004, he said, ‘Who cares?’ It was what I needed to hear. He was on your side. I was very nervous, but he liked me because I was different. I have this beautiful diamond brooch he gave me when I got married. He didn’t go to weddings — he didn’t like them. I remember we were driving from the church to the reception. My husband said, ‘Someone’s following us,’ and it was a dark car. At the reception, Karl jumps out of this car and pops this brooch on me. It was very sweet.”
