As we all know, the fashion world lost an icon when Karl Lagerfeld passed away on February 19, aged 85, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
This week, Chanel muses Cara Delevingne, 26, Penelope Cruz, 44, and Kaia Gerber, 17, paraded down a snowy alpine inspired runway as his final collection was shown at the Grand Palais in Paris for Paris Fashion Week.
Cara opened the presentation and looked incredible wearing a white checked jumpsuit which had a plunging neckline and a belt which cinched the fabric in at the waist. She placed her hands in a praying motion before throwing her arms up as she danced down the runway for her late good friend. She then comforted a crying model as they walked alongside one another in the snow.
Cara completed her fashion forward look with a matching top hat and a hounds-tooth overcoat with a giant statement necklace.
Karl’s favourite muse, actress Kristen Stewart, 28, was not pictured on the runway, but she pulled out all the stops, wearing a plunging quilted one-piece, suitable for the slopes and covered in the famous Chanel logo. I am DESPERATE for one of these. She wore Mary Jane heels and perched a pair of red sunglasses on the end of her nose as she posed for photographers.
Beautiful actress Penelope (he knew how to pick them) wore a fluffy white skirt and matching top for a very angelic walk down the runway, while holding a white rose in her hand in tribute to Karl.
Kaia wore a white mini dress which was embellished with flowers at the top section and had a furry skirt detail. She looked beautiful as she walked down the runway clapping for him.
Guests had been instructed not to wear heels because of the snow which filled the venue – the perfect tribute to Karl, who was born in Hamburg, at a castle outside of Salzburg, Austria.
An official statement published after his death and posted on Instagram said: ‘The House of KARL LAGERFELD shares, with deep emotion and sadness, the passing of its creative director, Karl Lagerfeld, on February 19, 2019, in Paris, France.
Virginie Viard, 57, Karl’s long-time collaborator for over 30 years and director of Chanel’s Fashion Creation Studio has taken over at the creative helm of the brand.
There was a one minute’s silence for Karl, during which the models appeared in a line at the top of the set, to pay their respects. This was broken by the sound of Karl’s voice which was played on a tannoy.
When he took the helm of Chanel in 1983, he shifted focus away from fragrance and accessories and focused on updating its heritage pieces, injecting much-needed life into its couture line following the death of legendary founder Coco Chanel.
Lagerfeld may have reversed the fortunes of ailing fashion label Chanel, but the fashion chief never succeeded in winning over the royal family.
Despite his celebrity clientele, Lagerfeld failed to secure a coveted spot in the royal wardrobe and, unlike other major luxury houses such as Dolce & Gabbana and Alexander McQueen, was widely snubbed by Palace stylists.
Kate has only worn Chanel once – during a visit to Paris in 2017 – while t Megan has not been seen in the label since her pre-royal days.
Insiders had long suspected the royal snub was linked to Lagerfeld’s acid-tongued remarks about the Middletons; after the 2011 wedding of Wills and Kate, he famously said Kate has a ‘nice silhouette’, but that sister Pippa Middleton ‘struggles’. Ouch.
Speaking to a German magazine, he said: ‘Kate Middleton has a nice silhouette and she is the right girl for that boy. I like that kind of woman, I like romantic beauties.’
‘On the other hand, her sister struggles,’ the designer added. ‘I don’t like the sister’s face. She should only show her back.’
While Diana once favoured Lagerfeld’s designs, she later refused to wear Chanel because its iconic double-C emblem ‘reminded her of Charles and Camilla’.
