Earlier this year, legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld sadly passed away. To celebrate his life and the legacy he left behind, last night, friends and family of the German designer gathered to pay tribute to him.
Taking place in Paris’s Grand Palais, the same location he turned into a supermarket, a beach, and an airport, this time the space had been decorated with number of photographs Annie Leibovitz had taken of him, as well as a series of black-and-white self-portraits. The hour-and-a-half-long memorial service - which was entitled ‘Karl For Ever’ - then started with the most Karl opening of all: a video of the designer interviewing himself.
Following soon after came a series of video tributes, musical, and drama performances from friends such as Pharell, Gigi Hadid, Carla Bruni and Jeff Koons. Helen Mirren took to the stage to read famous Karlisms from his book The World According to Karl. To honour his love for literature, model, and close friend Cara Delevingne read passages written by one of Lagerfeld's favourite authors, Collette (in our 25th anniversary issue, Lagerfeld told us “A day without books is hell”). Elsewhere, actress Tilda Swinton also went on to pay homage to his passion, acting out a reading of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando.
Guests in attendance hailed from not just fashion but all creative industries – even his beloved Choupette made an appearance, held by her governess, Françoise, in a short clip projected on the screen. The night ended with homages from fashion executives from LVMH, including chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, who drew parallels between Lagerfeld and artist Picasso.