The creative director of Chanel, Fendi and his eponymous line Karl Lagerfeld died on Feb. 19. He was 85.
There is no confirmed cause of death, multiple outlets have reported. In a statement, Chanel announced: "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." Scores of celebrities, models and fellow designers also paid tribute to the late style icon.
Born in Germany to Elisabeth Bahlmann and Otto Lagerfeld, a wealthy Hamburg businessman, he later emigrated to France where he graduated from Lycée Montaigne with a focus on drawing and history.
After winning the Woolmark Prize design competition he landed his first job in the industry under Pierre Balmain as his assistant in 1955, and from there his career took off, bringing him to various other fashion houses including Chloé and Fendi. While Lagerfeld was an author, photographer and prolific sketch artist, he is best known for revitalizing the iconic brand founded by Coco Chanel when he took over the reigns at Chanel in 1983.
With his trademark black sunglasses, powdered white ponytail and black leather gloves, the style icon was one of few designers who consistently remained as immediately recognizable as their designs.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.