French Media Bids Adieu to Karl Lagerfeld

ADIEU, KARL: French newsstands on Wednesday were filled with tributes to Karl Lagerfeld, who died on Tuesday.

A formal black-and-white portrait of the designer dressed in a pinstripe suit and spotted bow tie ran on the front page of Le Figaro, accompanied by the headline, “Karl Lagerfeld, the Last Emperor.” The French daily also published a six-page supplement dedicated to the designer, with on the cover a photo of Lagerfeld posing on a balcony of the Chanel jewelry boutique overlooking Place Vend?me in 2002, with the headline “Giant.”

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The articles ranged from an obituary describing him as a “politically incorrect, Warholian figure,” to a piece on his “biggest enemy,” Yves Saint Laurent, and a feature on his habits as a “compulsive collector,” touching on his photography collection featuring works by the likes of Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz and André Kertész, and his favorite art periods, the 18th and 20th centuries.

Libération opted for a shot of the designer exiting a Chanel show after taking a runway bow, taken from the back, with the headline: “Lagerfeld Bows Out.” Inside was an eight-page special edition which included a piece on Lagerfeld’s ambivalent relationship with Germany, his country of birth.

Les Echos ran a feature on Chanel’s succession plan, titled “Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld’s Orphan,” and describing the house’s nomination of Virginie Viard as the designer’s successor as a “transitional solution” in the wait to find that “rare gem” that will replace him.

Local radio and TV stations, including Arte, France 2, France Culture and RTL, have rejiggered their programming to include tributes to the designer throughout the week.

Arte on Friday will broadcast two documentaries by Lo?c Prigent, including “Karl Lagerfeld se dessine” (“Karl Lagerfeld Sketches His Life”), in which Lagerfeld draws elements of his life and career in front of the camera.

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