Karl Lagerfeld dies at 85

• Karl Otto Lagerfeld was a German creative director, fashion designer, artist, photographer and caricaturist who lived in Paris.
• The designer has passed away at the age of 85.
• The fashion world pays tribute to Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld has passed away aged 85 in Paris, the House of Chanel has confirmed.

The designer is said to have been working hard close up until his death, even giving his team instructions relating to the Fendi autumn/winter 2019 show, which is due to take place during Milan Fashion Week this Thursday.

Lagerfeld is one of the most prolific and celebrated fashion designers of all time and has headed up some of the biggest fashion houses in the world, including Fendi, Chanel and his own namesake label, all three of which he acted as creative director for until his death today. Chanel confirmed that Virginie Viard, Chanel studio director and Lagerfeld’s right-hand woman, would be succeeding the designer as creative director.

“Thanks to his creative genius, generosity and exceptional intuition, Karl Lagerfeld was ahead of his time, which widely contributed to the House of Chanel’s success throughout the world,” Chanel’s CEO, Alain Wertheimer, said in a statement. “Today, not only have I lost a friend, but we have all lost an extraordinary creative mind to whom I gave carte blanche in the early 1980s to reinvent the brand.”