Connect with:

Standard Blog Whole Post

Karl Lagerfeld, one of the most influential and recognizable fashion designers of the 20th century, dies at the age of 85.

The German designer is best known for his work as the creative director of Chanel, the French luxury fashion house. He was a prolific designer, also at the creative helm of Fendi and his eponymous label at the time of his death.

Lagerfeld died in Paris, the city he helped turn into the fashion capital of the world, his label said. Rumors had swirled about his health after he was absent from his Chanel show in late January, due to what the fashion house described as tiredness.

Lagerfeld, who transformed Chanel into a global powerhouse after becoming creative director in 1983, was rarely seen without his dark glasses, a silver ponytail and fingerless gloves – gaining him the reputation as the most recognizable man in fashion, and one of its most outspoken.

“My job is not to do what she did, but what she would have done,” he said of the brand’s founder, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. “The good thing about Chanel is it is an idea you can adapt to many things.”

“Today the world lost a giant among men,” Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, said in a statement. “His creative genius was breathtaking and to be his friend was an exceptional gift. Karl was brilliant, he was wicked, he was funny, he was generous beyond measure, and he was deeply kind. I will miss him so very much.”

Chanel CEO Alain Wertheimer said in a statement that the late designer was “ahead of his time” and his “creative genius, generosity and exceptional intuition” contributed to the House of Chanel’s success throughout the world.”

The head of LVMH, which owns Fendi and Louis Vuitton, said the fashion world had “lost a great inspiration”.

“We owe him a great deal: his taste and talent were the most exceptional I have ever known”, Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of LVMH, said in a statement. “We loved and admired him deeply.”

Born in Hamburg, Germany, Lagerfeld went on to win a womenswear design competition in 1954.

He got his start in Paris working under Pierre Balmain in the 1950s, moving three years later to the House of Patou. He had stints as a freelancer for Chloé and was hired by Fendi in 1967 as a consultant director, responsible for modernizing the Italian house’s fur lines.

When Lagerfield took the reins at Chanel, he set to work reviving the brand’s staid offerings.

“[Chanel was] a sleeping beauty. Not even a beautiful one. She snored”, he said of the fashion house in “Lagerfeld Confidential,” a 2007 documentary. “So I was to revive a dead woman.”

Wertheimer said that he gave Lagerfeld “carte blanche in the early 1980s to reinvent the brand.”

Not only did his designs turn Chanel into one of the world’s most valuable couture houses, but Lagerfeld’s business savvy made him an early proponent of the now ubiquitous luxury collaborations with high street brands.

In 2004, he became the first designer to design a collection for H&M, a trend that was later followed by the likes of Stella McCartney, Comme des Garcons, Versace and Maison Martin Margiela.

He also had a reputation for his quips about the fashion world, and courted critics for controversial remarks about migrants in recent years.

In his latter years, he became the adoptive parent of Choupette Lagerfeld, a Birman breed cat that came to stay one Christmas and never left. The cat’s jet-set lifestyle by Lagerfeld’s side earned her a 120,000 personal Instagram following.

Chanel said Virginie Viard, director of Chanel’s Fashion Creation Studio and “Lagerfeld’s closest collaborator for more than 30 years,” will be taking over Lagerfeld’s role.

“So that the legacy of Gabrielle Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld can live on,” Chanel wrote in a statement.

SRS will publish a full celebration of Karl Lagerfeld’s life and times in our next edition.

Karl Lagerfeld, one of the most influential

All luxury travel experiences boast similar ideals: excellent service, abounding amenities and lavish accommodations. While they very rarely disappoint, most properties hardly match the level of passion for hospitality found in the Lauren Berger Collection.

Lauren Berger prides herself on offering superb accommodations. Over the years Lauren has cultivated a keen talent for creating elegant, luxurious environments and assembled an impeccable collection of luxury rental properties. Found in prestigious locations around the world, each home is an expression of Lauren’s meticulous approach to hosting and entertaining. Elegant, lavish, sophisticated and comfortable; these properties were originally intended for Lauren’s closest friends and relatives to utilize and she now extends that privilege to her clients.

As a guest of the Lauren Berger Collection properties, you will develop a personal relationship with the individuals who are ready and waiting to serve you time and time again including Lauren herself. The staff is hand-picked and most of the team has been with her for decades. Every detail and desire is carefully intuited ahead of time and each property offers a plethora of services and privileges.

The gratitude Lauren feels towards the people in her life who have helped bring this dream to fruition – her husband, her family – is manifested in the extreme care and love with which she presents her homes. This graciousness nature is even more evident in her generous hospitality and desire to create a home away from home” for each of her guests. That is why those who select to stay at one of the Lauren Berger Collection consistently choose to return year after year.

Contact: Eddy Taylor +1 646 808 0648
Email: eddy@laurenbergercollection.com
www.laurenbergercollection.com

All luxury travel experiences boast similar ideals:

For more than two decades Michael Michaud has perfected the craft of creating botanical jewellery by achieving the seemingly impossible: creating a mould of the most delicate, unique botanical elements, capturing infinitesimally fine and lifelike details then reproducing them as stunning, wearable jewellery using soft patinas on bronze accented with pearls, beads and semi-precious stones.

He has quietly honed this unique expression of his creativity, inspired by nature. His singular ability to do this combined with an unequivocal vision for the jewellery he would create, has stood the test of time and authenticity.

Michael Michaud’s current incarnation has been as wearable art that can be purchased in the most prestigious museums in the world, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Van Gogh Museum and the Château de Versailles.

Our latest Lemon Drop collection has been developed in collaboration with the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. It was inspired by the V&A’s Green Dining Room, the world’s first museum café, and its fruit panels designed by the firm Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. in 1886.

Email: gisela@michael-michaud.com
Website: www.michael-michaud.com

For more than two decades Michael Michaud

Savile Row Gin, London Fashion Week

SAVILE ROW GIN supported the British Fashion Council as the gin partner to London Fashion Week Men’s this January. Visitors and guests enjoyed cocktails and The Perfect Serve – 50ml of Savile Row Gin, 150ml 1783 Schweppes Crisp Tonic, a slice of pink grapefruit and a mint leaf.

Commenting on the collaboration, Stewart Lee, Managing Director of Savile Row Gin said he was proud to support this important event for the industry. “It was wonderful to see so many talented British designers showcase their new collections. This really is an exciting time for the men’s sector and we are delighted to be a part of it” added Lee.

www.savilerow-gin.co.uk

.attachment-newsroom_elated_post_feature_image { display: none; } SAVILE ROW GIN supported the

Rachel Singer, apprentice of Maurice Sedwell, fought off stiff competition to win the much-coveted 2019 Golden Shears Award.

Having passed the first stage of the competition judged by a panel of top bespoke tailors, Rachel went on to win the final, in a catwalk show held at the esteemed Merchant Taylors’ Hall in the City of London.

Rachel’s biggest love is the technical side of bespoke. Understanding the anatomy, figuration, posture and proportion and how best to cater to the needs of an individual. She loves the challenge in solving requirements for each new customer.

Up until 2015 Rachel was completely self taught, and then began training at The Savile Row Academy. She then began coat making as an apprentice at Maurice Sedwell, and now works on the shop floor where she does the cutting, coat making and helps train new coat makers. Overall Rachel would like to be a cutter who can confidently and skilful cut for both men and women.

Singer’s winning entry – Double breasted Prince of Wales checked, tailored trousers suit, with long, cappuccino, cream wool coat and brown horn button detail – was awarded first place by a panel of celebrity and industry expert guest judges including model David Gandy, TV presenter and model Jodie Kidd, Mich Turner MBE, menswear stylist and writer Tom Stubbs and mens stylist Joe Ottaway.

Dubbed “the Oscars of Savile Row”, the Golden Shears Awards (established in 1974) is a bi-annual competition championed by the Merchant Taylors Company, whereby tailoring students and apprentices from throughout the country vie for the Golden Shears trophy and prize money.

Created to support young aspiring tailors from universities, colleges and in apprentice schemes, whilst promoting the art of bespoke tailoring. 2019 finalists included entries from London-based tailors and colleges such as Henry Poole & Co, Dunhill, Huntsman, Dege & Skinner, London College of Fashion and Wimbledon College of Arts with a handful from further afield such as Leeds College of Arts, Rochester and De Montfort Leicester.

Key supporters of the Golden Shears Awards include: The Merchant Taylor’s Company, CAPITB Trust, The Worshipful Company of Woolmen and The Pollen Estate.

The Silver Shears were awarded to Edward Jones, a student currently studying at UCA Rochester for his design a lightweight frosted navy and white chalk stripe cropped jacket with matching pleated culottes over layered tulle pantaloons, and the Rising Star accolade was won by Sophie Weller, an apprentice at the Dunhill.

Rachel Singer, apprentice of Maurice Sedwell, fought