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’.

Regular readers of Zips It Up will know that my friends and I are conscientious about the plastic trail we leave behind in the name of fashion and lifestyle. As we know, our oceans are full of the plastic that we humans discard without a second thought.

On Saturday 27th April my good friend and charity fundraiser Lisa Good will be holding a mammoth beach clean on Southend on Sea Beach followed by a Charity Ball in the evening supported by some incredible DJs such as Danny Gould and Andy Mansonfrom Clockwork Orange, Brandon Block, Alex P, Lisa Loud, Chris Powelland James Good.

The Charity Ball is a fundraiser as well as a formal launch of her charity, Pure Sea Foundationand its new website.

As an experienced diver with a love for sharks, Lisa is passionate about saving marine life from the devastation that we have caused to our oceans. She has worked at raising awareness about affordable alternatives to plastics through campaigns, publicity fundraising, school workshops and jumping out of planes.

The inspiration came from her incredible Puritiiwater bottles which can be found on the Facebook page and website. Please feel free to join the beach clean during the day and come and have a jump around in the evening. I am hoping to be there along with my fellow fashionistas, in that neck of the woods.

The event is being held at Room 24on the Esplanade.
Check out Pure Seas Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/onepuresea/
Or contact Lisagood74@puresea.co.uk
#onepuresea

Please donate to Lisa:

https://www.gofundme.com/pure-sea-charity-funding&rcid=r01-155181945395-7c2e03a845e742a6&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_m

So, the godfather of fashion designers, Karl Lagerfeld, has passed away.

With a career spanning over 50 years at Balmain, Chloe, Fendi and Chanel, amongst other fashion houses, he lived with his beloved cat Choupette Lagerfeld.  A cat with a jet set lifestyle, two maids, as well as 117k Instagram followers and a successful modelling career.

Choupette may be due of the designer’s £96m fortune – after Lagerfeld’s previous interview admission that he was leaving a chunk to her.

Shortly after he acquired her as a newborn kitten from a male model in August 2011, the designer set up his fluffy accoutrement with her own Twitter account – the first celebrity pet to receive such an honour.

However, it’s Choupette’s Instagram feed, closely-watched by thousands, which has given us the best insight into the life of Lagerfeld’s cat.

The loyal feline companion has round-the-clock care from two maids, who groom her white coat four times a day. They even served her up the same food as her master at the dining table.

During her downtime, she reclines on a £10,000 sofa and plays on her own personal iPad – presumably posting selfies for eager followers.

Choupette also travels by private jet – or a £1,500 Louis Vuitton cat carrier – and stay in the world’s most exclusive hotels.

She has also developed a successful career in her own right, including starring in a film for Net-a-Porter and appearing on the cover of Vogue with supermodel Gisele Bundchen. As a result, she became a personality in her own right – and in 2014 was profiled in book Choupette: The Private Life of a High-Flying Cat.

Karl said in a 2013 TV interview: “I never thought I would fall in love like this with a cat. It was love at first sight.”

The male model who owned the kitten was going on holiday and asked if he could leave her with the staff at Karl’s house while he was away. Karl said “She was still a baby at the time, and I found her so cute that when Baptiste came home I said to him, ‘Sorry but I’m keeping her!'”

And so, what now for Choupette? She must be lost without her master. But very wealthy, and awash with eager staff to dry away the feline tears.

Burberry has come under fire, after sending a “noose hoodie” along its Fall 2019 runway at London Fashion Week. The brand, along with its creative director Riccardo Tisci, is now apologising for the controversial piece and is removing it from the collection.

Model Liz Kennedy first called out the problematic sweatshirt on Instagram, after voicing criticism of the piece backstage at the show. “Suicide is not fashion. It is not glamorous nor edgy,” she wrote, before revealing that her concerns had been dismissed at the show.

“How could anyone overlook this and think it would be okay to do this, especially in a line dedicated to young girls and youth,” Kennedy continued on Instagram, “Let’s not forget about the horrifying history of lynching either. There are hundreds of ways to tie a rope and they chose to tie it like a noose, completely ignoring the fact that it was hanging around a neck.”

“I had asked to speak to someone about it, but I was told to write a letter. I had a brief conversation with someone but the message was: “It’s fashion. Nobody cares about what’s going on in your personal life so just keep it to yourself,'” Kennedy added.

The model also claims that staff were joking about the sweatshirt in the dressing room before the show, hanging a noose from the ceiling. After the piece caused major backlash online, her remarks led to an apology from the brand’s CEO and creative director.

“We are deeply sorry for the distress caused by one of the products that featured in our A/W 2019 runway collection. Though the design was inspired by the marine theme that ran throughout the collection, it was insensitive and we made a mistake.”

The moral of this story. Fashion can only exist in its own bubble up to a point. It’s good to hear that Liz Kennedy’s message eventually struck home.