Here’s why Karl Lagerfeld won’t be having a funeral

His ‘wishes will be respected’

It was announced this week that iconic fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has died aged 85.

The news of his death comes after weeks of ill health, with Karl – the artistic director of CHANEL – missing his catwalk bow at the end of the most recent CHANEL Couture Show in Paris.

‘It is with deep sadness that the House of CHANEL announces the passing of Karl Lagerfeld, the Creative Director for the CHANEL Fashion House since 1983,’ CHANEL announced in a statement, prompting an outpouring of love from a long list of high profile names.

And while there has been speculation around when and where a funeral would take place, it has now been announced that there won’t be a formal service honouring the iconic designer’s life.

The reason? It was never one of the designer’s wishes.

‘I do not want a burial, nothing,’ he previously explained. ‘I arrived one day, and one day I will leave. But let it be said, there is no urgency. I am like Madame Porgès, who lived during the Belle Epoque. When she died, people said that she was the only survivor of a world she was not part of. Well, me, that’s it, this world, I was not really part of it.’

He went on to reveal that he kept the ashes of both his late partner Jacques de Bascher and his late mother in a ‘secret place’, announcing ‘One day, we will add mine’.

The designer also planned to scatter the ashes of his cat, Choupette, in the same area if she were to die before him.

A spokesperson for Karl Lagerfeld’s brand has confirmed that regarding a funeral and cremation, Karl’s ’wishes will be respected’.

Our thoughts are with Karl’s loved ones.