The Grand Palais housed once more a Karl Lagerfeld event, this time, a fabulous tribute attended by elegant members of the fashion world to celebrate the life and work of the iconic fashion designer.
“Karl For Ever”, the tribute to the Renaissance Man and great designer, was organised by Chanel, Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld and arranged by Canadian opera director Robert Carsen.
The setting
Portraits from floor to ceiling of Lagerfeld were hanging from the walls of Grand Palais, where the Kaiser had made us dream so many times with the spectacular settings for Chanel’s catwalk shows. The black and white photos showed every phase of his long career, from the beginning as a teenager, winning the Woolmark Prize in 1954, to his time working at Chloe in the ‘70s and then, Fendi, Chanel and his eponymous label.
The performances
To celebrate the German multi-talented creator, many famous faces who had collaborated with Karl Lagerfeld throughout the years performed during the tribute. Tilda Swinton, looking fabulous as always, recited from Virginia Wolf’s “Orlando”, one of Lagerfeld’s favourites. Helen Mirren read “A World According To Karl” from the designer’s memoirs while Charlie Siem played the violin. French actress Fanny Ardant read a poem by Stephane Mallarmé about fans, Lagerfeld’s signature accessory and private air conditioning, as he once wittily explained. Choupette, Karl’s adored cat, wasn’t forgotten. Cara Delevingne, dressed in a fluffy pale pink dress, read a poem about cats by the French Colette. Pharrell Williams sang, and Lang Lang played the piano. Finally, tango dancers performed as a tribute to Karl Lagerfeld, who once said that Tango was his Rap music.
On-screen tributes
Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, filmmaker Baz Luhrmann and several people who had worked with the prolific Karl Lagerfeld spoke on video at the star-studded memorial event. The big screens also showed parts of interviews with Lagerfeld. Firstly, the Kaiser interviewed himself. And the tribute ended in the best possible way, with a blooper moment of Karl Lagerfeld. He appeared on the big screen laughing his head off as he couldn’t speak during a TV show.
The best dressed
Among the many elegant attendees, one of the best-dressed was Caroline of Monaco. The princess was the lifelong muse and friend of the legendary designer. Additionally, her daughter Charlotte Casiraghi also looked stunning. Both mother and daughter paid tribute to Karl Lagerfeld by wearing Chanel from head to toe.
Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour wore an elegant off-white outfit. Meanwhile, Stella McCartney looked über-chic in a black long-sleeve dress and a veil. Carla Bruni, elegant as always, paired a black smoking jacket and pants with a crisp white shirt.
The German supermodel Claudia Schiffer, muse and face of Chanel for many years and close friend of Karl Lagerfeld, wore an ’80s outfit to the Parisian tribute. And model Gigi Hadid came in a lady-like black belted skirt suit and gold chain necklaces.
I bet the Kaiser would have loved this beautiful homage!
Photo via Karl Lagerfeld