Karl Lagerfeld’s demise orphans the fashion system: indeed, he was one of the all-time most important and versatile designers. Yet, and it is quite normal in such events, it also arouses even more interest in his most meaningful works. For decades, Kaiser Karl was the iconic designer for two top fashion houses in the world of luxury: Chanel and Fendi. Both brands will have to deal now with the appointment of a new creative director, following the fashion designer’s demise. The French fashion house already made public the name of the successor of the German stylist, who had been working at Chanel as creative director since 1983: he will be replaced by Virginie Viard, general manager of Chanel Fashion Creation Studio, who closely liaised with Lagerfeld. As for Fendi, the chairmen of LVMH, the owner of the fashion brand, opted to focus on the memory of the German designer without going into detail about the new creative director who might possibly take over. While working at Chanel, Lagerfeld successfully managed to reinterpret, in every season, some traditional motifs of the brand, thanks to his irony and levity. Think about the very famous 2.55 bag model, personally designed by Coco Chanel and originally reinterpreted, in the eighties, by Karl Lagerfeld, who created the 2.88 model: he inserted a long thin leather stripe in the links of the shoulder strap and added the “double C look”, a precious metal turn lock showing a double CC, Chanel’s iconic logo. Since then, the Classic Flap model, such is its name, has become Chanel’s most distinctive bag, much like an aspirational luxury item (not that affordable though, since its price is about 3 thousand euros, depending on size). From bags to footwear. The two-tone pump shoes, a timeless classic model by Chanel, were reinterpreted by Lagerfeld in the Fall-Winter 2015/16 show; a short while before, in January 2014, during Chanel’s runway show, Karl Lagerfeld had presented his haute-couture Spring-Summer 2015 collection: all women’s suits, embroidered gowns alongside the very elegant evening dresses were matched with sneaker shoes, which therefore became, since then, a suitable model for haute-couture as well. While working at Fendi, Lagerfeld fully disclosed his passion for fur: since 1965, he had been striving hard to radically change the appearance of Fendi’s furs. He disassembled and reassembled several masterpieces, while knitting, piercing, laser-engraving fur and cutting it into small pieces; in addition, mixing furs with plastic or chiffon and painting them.
In memory of Kaiser Karl, telling about 4 models he made history with. Chanel have already appointed his successor
