Fashion's most well-known stars including Cara Delevingne, Gigi Hadid and Anna Wintour came together to celebrate the life of Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld on Thursday. The 90-minute tribute was named 'Karl For Ever', and saw the likes of Cara, Dame Helen Mirren and Tilda Swinton take to the stage to speak in his honour. Proceedings included a short runway presentation of archive designs from the designer's time at Chanel, Fendi and his namesake label, though the celebration also featured personal readings and performances in tribute to Karl's life away from the fashion world.
Stars on stage during the celebration
Karl was cremated in a private ceremony after his death and famously once said he hated funerals, stating he would "rather die" - so in true Lagerfeld form, the event was a chic and beautiful affair, rather than a gloomy one. The location of Paris' Grand Palais was of course poignant - as one of Karl's favourite places to stage his lavish fashion shows.
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Cara Delevingne wore a stunning feathered dress
Film clips were inserted throughout the evening, from various interviews and documentaries featuring the designer over the years. In one film, he could be heard saying of the power of fashion: "Clothes are the first thing you think of when you imagine an era—you think of pannier dresses when you say the 18th century, before architecture or anything else."
Monaco's Princess Caroline, Charlotte Casiraghi and Tatiana Casiraghi
The dress code? Prominently classic black and white, unsurprisingly, though Cara took to the stage in a fluffy pink dress, thought by many to be inspired by Karl's beloved Birman cat, Choupette. Fellow designer Stella McCartney wore a fitted blue lace number, while Monaco royals Princess Caroline, Charlotte Casiraghi and Tatiana Casiraghi all opted for monochrome.
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Victoria Beckham, who could not attend, also posted a tribute on her Instagram page. "Thinking of Karl today and the memorial in honour of his life and legacy at the #GrandPalais in Paris this evening. He was always so generous to me and is so missed," she wrote.