Fashion world mourns ‘Kaiser’

They called him the “Kaiser”, and for decades Karl Lagerfeld, who died at the age of 85 on Tuesday, reigned imperially over the fashion world.

The announcement of his death came just a month after the superstar designer, known for his dominance of the industry, failed to appear at his Paris haute couture week show for fashion label Chanel, which he had led since 1983.

The prolific German had left many younger creators in the dust well into his 80s, turning out collections season after season for Fendi and his own label, as well as Chanel, the world’s richest brand.

But in recent years Lagerfeld had visibly weakened, even if his extraordinary creative stamina showed little sign of flagging on the catwalk.

Friends had always said that the prolific creator would die with a pencil in his hand, and just last week his own fashion line Karl Lagerfeld was still announcing new design collaborations.

But speculation about his health spiralled in January after he missed the first show of his life, with Chanel executives saying he was tired.

Italian designer Donatella Versace led the tributes as news of his death broke.

“Karl, your genius touched the lives of so many, especially Gianni and I,” she wrote on Instagram, referring to her murdered brother who founded her brand.

“We will never forget your incredible talent and endless inspiration.

“We were always learning from you.”

Bernard Arnault, the most powerful man in fashion and owner of luxury giant LVMH, said he was infinitely saddened by the loss of a very dear friend and a creative genius.

“Fashion and culture have lost a major inspiration.

“He contributed to making Paris the fashion capital of the world and Fendi one of the most innovative of Italian brands,” the billionaire said.

Former French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, who worked as a model for Lagerfeld, wrote a touching tribute.

“Thank you for all the sparkles . . . thank you for bringing beauty and lightness in our world, so much colour in the darkness.”

With his powdered white pony tail, black sunglasses and starched high-collared white shirts, Lagerfeld was as instantly recognisable as his celebrity clients.

Pop-star-turned-fashion-designer Victoria Beckham said that Lagerfeld was a genius.

He was “always so kind and generous to me both personally and professionally. RIP,” the former Spice Girl said.

French actress Vanessa Paradis on Instagram said: “It’s a privilege to be able to say that you’ve worked with him, that you’ve been dressed by him.”

French interior minister Christophe Castaner said: “Karl Lagerfeld is an immense personality, someone out of the ordinary.”

A renovator rather than a revolutionary, Lagerfeld’s genius was for subtly, or sometimes not so subtly, updating classic luxury labels with street-style influences.

His streetwise smarts sent Chanel sales surging to $10bn (R140bn) in 2017 even as he entered the second half of his eighties.

“Karl doesn’t so much design as reign,” one fashion insider remarked.

Lagerfeld was never in any doubt that he was born to lead, confessing he had asked his Prussian mother for a valet for his fifth birthday.