“I was once a professor at the College of Applied Art in Vienna. In the short period in which I lectured, I realized that I had absolutely no educational fiber whatsoever, that I wasn’t interested in my students. Without being egotistical, what I do is make things. Explaining it to others is not my thing at all. I’m a battlefield person. And generals don’t necessarily make a good minister of war.” — Karl Lagerfeld

“It is with deep sadness that the House of Chanel announces the passing of Karl Lagerfeld, the Creative Director for the Chanel Fashion House since 1983. Virginie Viard, director of Chanel’s fashion creation studio and Lagerfeld’s closest collaborator for more than thirty years, has been entrusted by Alain Wertheimer with the creative work for the collections, so that the legacy of Gabrielle Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld can live on.” — Chanel, February 19, 2019

“I love frivolousness. I know a lot of people who would have disappeared long ago had they not been frivolous… I hate it when the gentlemen with their taffeta and scissors take themselves too seriously. I love everything that is transcient. You should never anchor yourself in an epoch. The tale of Romeo and Juliet lasted only one night, and now it’s the symbol of eternal love.” — Karl Lagerfeld

The fashion designer, creative director, photographer, artist, publisher, bibliophile, actor, author, costumer, and aphorist was a cherished contributor to PARIS LA, supporting Chanel’s campaign collaborations over the last ten years, and creating a poster for Issue 5.

“I have no conception of my valuable time. For me, wasting time is the ultimate luxury. For example, if I’m lying on the couch and reading an interesting book when I should be doing something else, maybe that’s wasting time. But the stimulation of a guilty conscience is extremely creative. It’s the spice of life.” — Karl Lagerfeld

Lagerfeld quotes from Deutsch Vogue Dialogues, “Camouflage, Camouflage: Voyeur Karl Lagerfeld in conversation with his friend Gabriele Henkel, an expert on the stage management of life” (originally published in Deutsch Vogue in 1992), edited by Condé Nast Germany (Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2004), 110–114.

From top: Karl Lagerfeld in Paris, Grand Palais, July 2018; young Lagerfeld in Paris; Lagerfeld with Donna Jordan (left) and Jane Forth in L’Amour (1973), directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey; Lagerfeld in the 1970s; Lagerfeld with Jacques de Bascher, 1970s, photograph © Philippe Heurtault; Yves Saint Laurent and Lagerfeld at the Palace, 1970s; Karl Lagerfeld, photograph from Metamorphoses of an American (Göttingen: Steidl, 2008), his tribute to model Brad Kroenig; Karl Lagerfeld, posters (front and verso) for PARIS LA 5 (Winter 2010–2011); Lagerfeld with Paloma Picasso at Studio 54, photograph by Richard P. Manning.