By Alex Stuart
The media and public reaction to fashion designer Lagerfeld’s death last week was resounding and widespread. Lagerfeld is credited with transforming Chanel from couture house to global brand, simultaneously helping elevate Paris to its status as world fashion capital. Despite spending most of his life living and creating in Paris, Lagerfeld was raised in Hamburg; this Deutsche Welle documentary describes how he frequently visited Kunsthalle Hamburg, where he drew inspiration from the visual arts. His heritage and uncompromising style earned him the nickname ‘the Kaiser’ amongst industry insiders. His self-proclaimed mentee Claudia Schiffer said of Lagerfeld: “Karl was my magic dust, he transformed me from a shy German girl into a supermodel … what Warhol was to art, he was to fashion; he is irreplaceable.”
In other related news, Lagerfeld is reported to have used his German citizenship to leave a portion of his fortune to his cat, Choupette. In an interview with Numéro, he makes clear his intention for the cat to inherit in order to fund its lavish lifestyle, documented on its very own Instagram account. Unlike in Germany, French law strictly prohibits pets benefiting from wills. When questioned on this, Lagerfeld replied: “Well it’s lucky I’m not French then.”
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