Karl Lagerfeld, Designer Who Defined Luxury Fashion, Is Dead

Karl Lagerfeld, Designer(dəˈzīnər) Who Defined Luxury(ˈləgZH(ə)-,ˈləkSH(ə)rē) Fashion(ˈfaSHən), Is Dead

By Vanessa(vəˈnəsə) Friedman

Karl Lagerfeld, the most prolific(prəˈlifik) designer of the 20th and 21st centuries and a man whose career(kəˈri(ə)r) formed the prototype(ˈprōtəˌtīp) of the modern(ˈmädərn) luxury fashion industry, died on Tuesday in Paris(ˈperəs).

Though his birth year was a matter of some dispute(disˈpyo͞ot), Mr. Lagerfeld, who lived in Paris, was generally thought to be 85. His death was announced by Chanel(SHəˈnel), with which he had long been associated(-SHē-,əˈsōsēˌātid).

“More than anyone I know, he represents(ˌreprəˈzent) the soul(sōl) of fashion: restless(ˈrestləs), forward-looking and voraciously(vəˈrāSHəs) attentive(əˈtentiv) to our changing culture,” Anna Wintour, editor of American Vogue(vōg), said of Mr. Lagerfeld when presenting(priˈzent,ˈprezənt) him with the Outstanding Achievement Award at the British(ˈbritiSH) Fashion Awards in 2015.

Creative director of Chanel since 1983 and Fendi since 1965, and founder(ˈfoundər) of his own line, Mr. Lagerfeld was the definition(ˌdefəˈniSHən) of a fashion polyglot(ˈpäliˌglät), able to speak the language of many different brands at the same time (not to mention(ˈmen(t)SH(ə)n) many languages themselves: He read in English, French, German(ˈjərmən) and Italian(iˈtalyən)).

In his 80s, when most of his peers were retiring(riˈtīriNG) to their yachts(yät) or country estates(iˈstāt), he was designing(dəˈzīniNG) an average of 14 new collections a year, ranging from couture to the high street — and not counting collaborations(kəˌlabəˈrāSHən) and special projects. “Ideas come to you when you work,” he said backstage before a Fendi show at age 83.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/obituaries/karl-lagerfeld-dead.html