After Karl Lagerfeld, What's Next?

Chanel, Fendi and the late designer’s eponymous label all have a bright future ahead – here’s how Lagerfeld made sure of that during his lifetime.

- Elizabeth Paton and Vanessa Friedman

KARL LAGERFELD’S DEATH leaves a void atop two of fashion’s biggest names, Chanel and Fendi, and signals a potentially seismic shift on the industry’s creative side at a time of heightened flux in the global luxury market.

Chanel has already named Virginie Viard, a relatively unknown company insider based in Paris, to continue Lagerfeld’s work. Viard was the director of the Chanel fashion creation studio and Lagerfeld’s right-hand woman for more than 30 years.

At Fendi, where Lagerfeld was named creative director in 1965, the question of succession has not yet been addressed beyond a company statement that a decision on the issue would come “later.” Nor has there been any word about Lagerfeld’s own brand, which he started in 1984 and is now partly owned by private equity firm Apax Partners.

“Today, not only have I lost a friend, but we have all lost an extraordinary creative mind,” Alain Wertheimer, Chanel’s chief executive, said in a statement when confirming the German designer’s death at 85. “flanks to his creative genius, generosity and exceptional intuition, Karl Lagerfeld was ahead of his time, which widely contributed to the house of Chanel’s success throughout the world.”

Lagerfeld, who joined the house of Chanel in 1983, had long been credited with transforming the company into one of the world’s biggest luxury brands, synonymous with blockbuster runway shows and distinctive products like its No. 5 perfume, black boucle jackets, two-tone ballet pumps and an array of quilted handbags.