When Karl Lagerfeld did not appear to take his customary bow at the end of Chanel's two shows during Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week in January, it was the end of an era.
It was also clearly a sign that something was amiss with one of the industry's most stalwart presences, who celebrated 50 years at Fendi in 2015 and once brusquely said, "Why should I stop working? If I do, I'll die and it'll all be finished."
He truly didn't stop working until he had no choice. Chanel confirmed Tuesday that Lagerfeld had died, triggering an outpouring of remembrances from the endless list of celebrities, fellow designers and influencers who called him a friend, frenemy or inspiration.
"One day it will be over and I don't care," Lagerfeld told T, The New York Times Style Magazine, in 2015. "As my mother used to say, 'There is one God for everybody and all the religions are shops.'"
In this piece from 2017, here's a look at how the designer who did it all exactly his way stayed in demand, and why, even if he didn't care, everyone else does:
For all of the acting superlatives deservedly bestowed on Meryl Streep over the years, she's never really been known for her fashion.
She's been showbiz royalty for so long, her red carpet presence is more breezily regal than anything else. The three-time Oscar winner may as well wear velvet robes.
But because it's not socially acceptable to drape one's self in velvet (or at least it didn't used to be), Streep dons gowns made by famous designers when the event calls for it, just like everybody else. And for the 2017 Oscars, which marked her 20th nomination, she chose a glittering blue Elie Saab creation.
Streep didn't, however, get dressed Sunday until after she had firmly eviscerated Karl Lagerfeld's claim that she had been planning to wear a custom Chanel dress—that is, until she found a designer who would pay her for the honor of wearing their dress at the Oscars.
The most surprising thing about the entire incident, meanwhile, was not that Lagerfeld made that claim about Streep, telling Women's Wear Daily, "We give them dresses, we make the dresses, but we don't pay. A genius actress, but cheapness also, no?"
The surprise was that he backed down afterward and admitted to getting the story wrong on his end.
She's been showbiz royalty for so long, her red carpet presence is more breezily regal than anything else. The three-time Oscar winner may as well wear velvet robes.
But because it's not socially acceptable to drape one's self in velvet (or at least it didn't used to be), Streep dons gowns made by famous designers when the event calls for it, just like everybody else. And for the 2017 Oscars, which marked her 20th nomination, she chose a glittering blue Elie Saab creation.
Streep didn't, however, get dressed Sunday until after she had firmly eviscerated Karl Lagerfeld's claim that she had been planning to wear a custom Chanel dress—that is, until she found a designer who would pay her for the honor of wearing their dress at the Oscars.
The most surprising thing about the entire incident, meanwhile, was not that Lagerfeld made that claim about Streep, telling Women's Wear Daily, "We give them dresses, we make the dresses, but we don't pay. A genius actress, but cheapness also, no?"
The surprise was that he backed down afterward and admitted to getting the story wrong on his end.
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