Page 158 - Philippine Tatler (April 2019)

y now, you are probably already

dusting the Karl Lagerfeld

superlatives off your shoulder

pads, and shaking the posthumous

hagiography pouring in from every

fashion and news website off your

Bdesigner laps. You can probably recite

all his achievements by the chapters and a biopic

must surely already be in the works. (Glenn Close in

a powdered ponytail as Kaiser Karl, anyone?). But

here are some points you might have missed in the

fog of dry shampoo.

PUBLIC FACE collar; strictly‑tailored black coat with

No one actually knows a whole lot about narrow sleeves ending in fingerless gloves;
the real Karl Lagerfeld. Even his age was a and heavy Chrome Hearts rings. In the 1980s
matter of some dispute—the German fashion and ’90s, he didn’t wear gloves, but fluttered
designer, who died in Paris on February 19, a fan. So recognisable was this caricature
was said to be 85 years old, but his that Fendi made the Karlito bag charms,

chronological age was never confirmed. Even which remain hugely sellable.
the conditions of his illness and death were We think of Lagerfeld as a
glossed over. Tellingly, no account of his last silhouette, which appeared on everything
hours has surfaced, as is wont with people of from tees to Diet Coke cans. We do not
this stature. reflect on how this image was painstakingly
An icon of his own invention, assembled, much like how Chanel’s mega
Lagerfeld had constructed a glittering and shows at Paris’ Grand Palais with icebergs
LAST BOW impenetrable edifice ceaselessly honed and rockets, and waterfalls and gardens were
(opposite) over five decades in fashion, starting in mounted—through sheer force of will, an
The designer the 1960s when he first started working at army of enablers, military precision, limitless
taking the
customary Chloé. Through media omnipresence, the resources, discipline and vision.
bow at a Fendi Lagerfeld avatar had wormed its
runway show way into everyone’s mind beyond the fashion KEPT UNDER WRAPS
in 2016 with industry, making him a global icon. Despite living his life in the full glare of the
accessories Lagerfeld is so starkly drawn that he is media spotlight, Lagerfeld had no personal
and menswear
creative like an emoji. Think armour plate‑like dark scandals, unlike public figures such as
director Silvia glasses swept over a wide mouth; white John Galliano, Alexander McQueen or even
Venturini Fendi powdered ponytail joined to stiff white Michael Jackson for that matter whose

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philippine tatler april 2019