Amid colossal portraits and blank strains of black, white and purple, Chanel, Fendi and a bunch of stars paid homage to the craze titan and Kaiser of mode Karl Lagerfeld on Thursday.
The mythic kingpin of the cutting edge died in February, aged 85, devastating the industry after his decades as head of legendary labels Fendi and Chanel as well as his eponymous brand.
Stars including Pharrell Williams, Tilda Swinton, Helen Mirren and Cara Delevingne paid homage to Lagerfeld on the stage during a tribute entitled “Karl For Ever.”
Blurring the lines of haute couture, theater and film much as Lagerfeld was known to do, the event consisted of live performances and dramatic readings montaged with a short documentary.
Featuring the ever reticent co-owner of Chanel Alain Wertheimer, the film was narrated by Lagerfeld himself, sewn together from dozens of clips before his death.
Looking on, the celebrity-studded crowd featured Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, singer-songwriter and supermodel Carla Bruni, Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, Valentino himself, model Gigi Hadid, editor-in-chief of Vogue Anna Wintour and the first lady of France, Brigitte Macron.
The show, conceived by Canadian opera director Robert Carsen, was held in the glass-domed Grand Palais – the same quintessentially stylish structure that housed some of Lagerfeld’s most sensational shows, which included elements as spectacular as a 265-tonne iceberg and a replicate Eiffel tower.
“Karl For Ever” sought no longer handiest to spotlight Lagerfeld’s lengthy listing of achievements as grand couturier, photographer or writer, however to spotlight the person in the back of the glasses. The party explored his non-public passions like tango, literature and song, and highlighted anecdotes from those that knew him neatly.
He additionally introduced Chanel again from demise’s door, reinvigorating the wilting couture space with the trendy moxie that has since stored Chanel a profitable and industry-defining style space, a role that required consistent reinvention.
“It’s as much as us to regulate to our occasions,” Lagerfeld stated in a single video. “Evolution can’t be stopped, and may not be stopped the next day.”
The tribute punctuated Paris’ males’s style week for Spring/Summer time, which wraps up Sunday.
