Iconic fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has died in Paris at the age 85, Chanel has confirmed to TheNew York Times. There had been speculation about the fashion legend’s health after he missed Chanel’s haute couture shows in Paris on Jan. 22, when the company only said he couldn’t attend because he was “feeling tired.” Over the past year, Lagerfeld made most of his catwalk appearances with Virginie Viard, a longtime friend and collaborator who has now been appointed as his successor. Previously, Viard served as Chanel’s fashion studio director. Vogue Editor Anna Wintour said of Lagerfeld when she presented him the Outstanding Achievement Award at the British Fashion Awards in 2015: “More than anyone I know, he represents the soul of fashion: restless, forward-looking, and voraciously attentive to our changing culture.” He’d been the creative director of Chanel since 1983.
