Karl Lagerfeld cremated in France
February 23, 2019
German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld was cremated near Paris on Friday, according to the Closer celebrity gossip magazine.
Lagerfeld, also known as the "Kaiser" of the fashion industry, had long insisted that he would "rather die" than be buried.
"I just want to disappear like the animals in the virgin forest. It is awful to encumber people with your remains," he told a French television in 2015.
Lagerfeld also reportedly didn't want a grandiose funeral.
Read more: How Karl Lagerfeld made an icon of himself
Lagerfeld's ashes are likely to be scattered with those of his mother and his lover, his label said Wednesday.
"I've asked to be cremated and for my ashes to dispersed with those of my mother... and those of Choupette (his cat), if she dies before me," he said in one of his last interviews.
The cremation was done privately and was attended by close family and friends, including Virginie Viard, Lagerfeld's successor at Chanel.
Read more: High Five: 5 of Karl Lagerfeld's most outrageous comments
Lagerfeld's looks, his quick tongue, his muses and the cult surrounding his Burmese cat were enough to make him a brand in his own right. But first and foremost, he was the soul of the house of Chanel. He had been creating haute couture and pret-a-porter collections throughout his life.
He died on February 19, at the age of 85 from complications of pancreatic cancer.
shs/aw (dpa, AFP)