Karl Lagerfeld Reported Dead At 85

Chanel’s creative director Karl Lagerfeld has died at the age of 85, according to French media reports.

The news was first reported by Paris Match with another French outlet, Pure People, later adding that the designer had been taken ill in Paris on Monday.

The designer prompted health concerns in January, when he missed Chanel’s Paris haute couture shows, with another of the brand’s directors stepping in for him.

Prior to that, he made a public appearance in late November to switch on the Christmas lights on the Champs-Elysees.

Karl took over as Chanel’s creative director in 1983.

His illustrious fashion career began in the early 1950s, when he started working as an assistant to Pierre Balmain.