Last Tuesday, February 19th, we lost global fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld to pancreatic cancer. In honor of his amazing life of 85 years, here are 5 things you should definitely know about this legendary figure of the fashion world (beyond his ever-present black sunglasses, white ponytail, fingerless gloves, and prominent collar).
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He was born in Hamburg, Germany, and lived in Paris. He spoke German, French, Italian, and English.
2. At age 17, Lagerfeld won a contest for a sketch of a coat, which eventually resulted in designer and fashion house founder Pierre Balmain hiring him as his assistant.
3. He began working for fashion brand Fendi in 1965, initially on their fur line. He became the creative director there and remained until his death.
4. When Coco Chanel died in 1971, her brand was in decline until Lagerfeld came onto the scene as creative director in 1982 (a position he held for the rest of his life). Now, we know Chanel as one of the most celebrated designer fashion brands, and the iconic interlocked double ‘C’ design is accredited to Lagerfeld.
5. In addition to creating his own label and working with Chanel and Fendi, Lagerfeld was also a photographer, writer, and illustrator: In 1999, Lagerfeld opened 7L, a bookshop in Paris, and in 2000, he became a publisher for Editions 7L, which specialized in photography.He wrote a book about his weight loss journey in 2002, called “The Karl Lagerfeld Diet,” which was quite popular.
Rest in peace, Karl Lagerfeld.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Lagerfeld
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/obituaries/karl-lagerfeld-dead.html
https://www.karl.com/experience/en/biography/
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