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Karl Lagerfeld has already created a "Chanel shopping mall" the size of Walmart to present his ready-to-wear collection. There were luxury goods labeled "one for the price of two".
Immediately after the models paraded through the aisles, the guests invaded the shelves. Rihanna put in a caddy and Keira Knightley was stunned.
"Luxury should be worn as if you go to the supermarket. It's 21st century pop art, "said Lagerfeld, barely visible behind his enigmatic hues.
The show was the type of presentation that ended up defining much of Lagerfeld's career at the height of fashion, six decades old.
When Chanel fell into decline after Coco Chanel's death in the 1970s, her new owners looked for a larger-than-life designer to wake up the house from her creative coma. The man of German origin, Lagerfeld, contemporary of Yves Saint Laurent with a strict ponytail and a narrow collar, was the man he needed.
Chanel's creative director from 1983 until his death on Tuesday, he quickly turned the house into an industry leader worth billions of dollars, a position she retains today.
Lagerfeld, who had been poached in Chloe, used her creative scalpel to modernize the brand's costumes and tweeds in the 1980s, as the house expanded internationally by opening up some 40 shops around the world during the decade.
His work ethic was legendary. Beyond Chanel, he also began working with the Italian fashion house Fendi in 1965 and has held the management position within the LVMH brand since 1977.
In this 1973 photo, Karl Lagerfeld poses with models in Krefeld, Germany.
He spoke of his spirit
Yet Lagerfeld will be remembered for his showmanship, eccentric personality, and acidic language as well as his juvenile outlook.
Wearing sunglbades and gloves, he evolved to become "Kaiser Karl" – a nickname that refers to his demanding character, his damage and his uncompromising standards.
"Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life, so you bought sweatpants, "he said once. Another time, he rejected Saint Laurent as "provincial".
The very ambition of its fashion shows was legendary, and they became particularly influential at a time when images are being broadcast around the world with a single click.
His Chanel collections were invariably the most important of the Paris Fashion Week calendar. Chanel, it was said, put the "show" in "the fashion show".
Lagerfeld was also an anachronism, dressing in a baroque punk style and challenging the politically correct – almost with pride.
He was hot in the bath for calling singer Adele "a little too fat" and said he did not like the face of Pippa Middleton, the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge.
"She should only show him back," he advised.
In another interview, he created fury by criticizing Kim Kardashian as too flashy with his money in Paris after his 2016 flight.
In spite of the harsh words, Lagerfeld remained surprisingly warm in person and always kept a sparkle in his eyes. The jokes were delivered with a smile, even when they were clearly pejorative.
The proof of his generous spirit is reflected in his relations with journalists. Well in his 80s, he was unique to Paris for interviewing for more than an hour after each Chanel show. He would oscillate perfectly between English, French, Italian and his native German.
About his feelings after a collection, he once said: "I am a kind of fashion nymphomaniac who never reaches bad."
The love of his life, his cat Choupette, also testifies to his heart so eccentric. He wore his pendant likeness during a show and acknowledged that she had at least two maids.
She is spoiled, "far more than a child could be," he said in 2013, revealing that he had taken her to the vet almost every 10 days. As a proud parent, Lagerfeld told a magazine that Choupette had earned over 3 million US dollars (12.2 million RMB) in 2014 for advertising campaigns.
Goodbye, Kaiser Karl
In recent seasons, Lagerfeld seemed more and more fragile. When he failed in the January sewing collection of the house, he lost sadness among the guests, some of whom had become gray and covered his long career.
For a high fashion show in 2012, Lagerfeld built a futuristic airliner, the fairway serving as a runway for models and guests gathered in "Star Trek" style seats.
Lagerfeld had to be in the badpit of the ship to give interviews. But he was not found. His staff panicked that their leader escaped when he needed it the most. They started a frenzied search.
"Karl moved to the southern part", crackled their radios as they crisscrossed together.
Then, as soon as he disappeared, Lagerfeld reappeared near the jetliner's entrance center. In the middle of the show, Lagerfeld was an island of calm, sipping a Coca-Cola in a silver tray. – AP
Karl Lagerfeld leads the models appearing on the track at the end of the Chanel Fall-Winter 2006 show.
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