Karl Forever: A Tribute to the Fashion Icon at the Grand Palais

If he loved Mallarmé, Karl Lagerfeld also loved Debussy. Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun washed over the Grand Palais last night while 2,500 guests, who had accepted the joint invitation of Chanel, Fendi, and Karl Lagerfeld, paid tribute to the fashion icon who passed away earlier this year. The flagship location where Lagerfeld put on so many shows, where he launched a rocket or a cruise liner, where he organized a demonstration, recreated a supermarket, or, more recently, where he brought the beach to Paris, continued to be quite a scene yesterday. The English violinist Charlie Siem played Paganini, while Helen Mirren did a reading. A nod to Lagerfeld’s recently discovered dancing skills, which were revealed in Havana during Chanel’s Cruise 2016, tango dancers performed in his honor. Other guests included Cara Delevingne, Claudia Schiffer, Gigi Hadid, Tilda Swinton, Pharrell, and Lil Buck. Through the memorial performances, the photographs, and the film, it was abundantly clear last night that the legacy that Lagerfeld created is still very much alive.