27.09.2019
While Karl Lagerfeld asked that no official commemorations be carried out, it seems almost impossible for the fashion world not to honour his memory. So it comes as no surprise that the late designers’ namesake brand has since launched ‘A Tribute to Karl: The White Shirt Project’, a new creative initiative made to honour the iconic German couturier’s colossal legacy. Overseen by the house’s style advisor Carine Roitfeld, the global project invited personalities with close ties to the designer to contribute their personal interpretation of one of Lagerfeld’s most cherished basics: the crisp white shirt. And apart from the litany of star power including Cara Delevingne, Tommy Hilfiger, Alessandro Michele, Amber Valletta, Kate Moss, Diane Kruger, Lewis Hamilton, Sébastien Jondeau, and Takashi Murakami, one of the *shiny* standouts we've seen so far is Nadja Swarovski's input towards the Lagerfeld homage. In Swarovski-esque fashion, the shirt features some prominent bling with its Hotfix stone design across its cuffs. And if one looks closely enough, you'll even see some of the trademark crystals, discreetly hidden inside the placket of the fly-front design. But the star of the show, of course, is the legendary designer himself, with his image placed firm and center on the reverse of the shirt. According to the 49-year old Austrian designer, she incorporated a pixelated transover of over 6,000 crystals to construct the black-and-white portrait of Lagerfeld. With the incorporation of such a futuristic technique, one can't help but be reminded of Lagerfeld's own innovative, ahead-of-his-time flair, which is yet another perfect stand-alone tribute to the man himself. Besides Swarovski, all other special curations will be unveiled in September at Paris Fashion Week, where seven of the final designs will be reproduced 77 times and retail at €777 each —a reference to Lagerfeld’s lucky number. And in a final tribute to Lagerfeld, all proceeds from the sales will be donated to the “Sauver la Vie” foundation, a French charity that funds medical research at Paris Descartes University, and one that he had secretly supported for many years. So while he is gone, he most certainly has not been forgotten.
