The haute-couture designer and creative director at Chanel was rushed to a hospital outside of Paris Monday night and died Tuesday morning, according to reports.
German designer Karl Lagerfeld has died at the age of 85.
The haute-couture designer and creative director at Chanel and Fendi was rushed to a hospital outside of Paris Monday night and died Tuesday morning, Chanel told The Associated Press.
Bernard Arnault, the president of LVMH, which owns Fendi, released a statement Tuesday.
"We owe him a lot: his taste and talent were the most exceptional I have ever known," Arnault wrote of Lagerfeld. "The death of this dear friend sadly saddens me, my wife and my children. We loved and admired him deeply. Fashion and culture lost a great inspiration."
Lagerfeld had reportedly been suffering from ill health for a few weeks leading up to his death.
He’d missed two of Chanel’s Paris shows on Jan. 22, but the company said he was not present because he was “feeling tired.”
It was reportedly the first time he’d missed a bow at the end of a show for the brand since he joined in 1983.
Lagerfeld was known for stepping outside the box in fashion, even hiring strippers and porn stars as models for some shows throughout the years. He often wore dark sunglasses and suits, and frequently sported a ponytail.
He was born in Hamburg, Germany, and in 1950s he was began working as an assistant to designer Pierre Balmain. He later started a namesake fashion line before joining Chanel, more than a decade after founder Coco Chanel's death.
His shows were always glamorous productions, often costing millions to put on.
"When I took on Chanel, it was a sleeping beauty — not even a beautiful one," he said in the 2007 documentary "Lagerfeld Confidential." "She snored."
Designer Henry Holland tweeted about the fashion icon’s death on Tuesday.
“To design is to breathe, so if I can’t breathe I’m in trouble,” Holland tweeted, quoting Lagerfeld.
Donatella Versace also took to Instagram to remember Lagerfeld.
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