In Pics: Karl Lagerfeld Honoured In Paris By Chanel, Fendi And Big Stars

The walls of the Grand Palais in Paris were covered with colossal portraits and clean lines of black, white and red where Chanel, Fendi and a gaggle of stars paid homage to the fashion Kaiser Karl Legerfeld. The kingpin of designing died in February, aged 85, devastating the industry and bringing it to a halt.

Dubbed ‘Karl for Ever’, the setting of the event at the usual venue for Chanel’s season runway shoes- the Grand Palais was done by Robert Carsen, a theatre and opera director. The tribute oragnised by Chanel and Fendi and Lagerfeld’s namesake label were covered in portraits of the legend, including one of him and his favourite feline Choupette.

The ceremony, attended by many of the biggest names and faces in fashion began with Lagerfeld interviewing himself, before cutting to clips of industry notables like Anna Wintour, Carine Roitfeld and fellow designer Valentino Garavani paying their respects. Further Tilda Swinton, Helen Mirren and Cara Delevingne delivered readings, while musical performances came from Pharell Williams and the Chinese pianist Land Lang. Even Gigi Hadid and Stella McCartney were in attendance.

The presence of big names were not only confined to the films and fashion world; the presence of French First Lady Brigitte Macron and ex First Lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy were testament to the cultural status of Lagerfeld, who was not even French, yet dominated the Paris fashion industry for decades. Even five-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton attended the ceremony and spoke to the breadth of a seven-decade career that spanned over photography, art and design.

Karl Lagerfeld is and will always be remembered as one of the most influential, recognizable and outspoken figures of contemporary fashion. Besides his most famous post as creative director of Chanel, a job he began in 1983, he was also the creative mastermind at Fendi and his own label – Karl Lagerfeld. Back in March, Chanel paid tribute to the legendary designer with a moment of silence before models took to the runway in an all-white collection of the brand’s signatures at its Autumn-Winter 2019 show. And in July, Fendi will stage its own show in honour of Lagerfeld in Rome.

Here are a few pictures from ‘Karl Forever’: