During the Paris leg of Men’s fashion month, industry insiders and celebrities alike came together to honor the memory of Karl Lagerfeld, the late legendary designer best known for heading up creative direction at the fashion houses of Chanel and Fendi. Lagerfeld passed away in February at the age of 85. The “Karl For Ever” memorial was held on Thursday in the Grand Palais in Paris, Lagerfeld’s preferred venue for Chanel runway shows; the tribute was organized by Chanel, Fendi and Lagerfeld’s namesake label and was designed by theater and opera director Robert Carsen.
In an interview, Carsen noted that his concept for the memorial was ultimately a “joyful celebration of all things Karl.” The walls of the Grand Palais were covered in portraits of Lagerfeld, including a large one of him and his beloved pet cat, Choupette and the ceremony began with a video of Lagerfeld interviewing himself, before cutting to clips of industry notables like Anna Wintour, Carine Roitfeld and fellow designer Valentino Garavani paying their respects.
Actress Tilda Swinton, model Cara Delevingne, artists Lang Lang and Pharrell all took turns paying homage to Lagerfeld during the service, while Brigitte Macron, Carla Bruni Sarkozy, Gigi Hadid, and Stella McCartney were all in attendance. Even race car driver Lewis Hamilton passed on media for the Grand Prix to attend Lagerfeld’s memorial.