Label voices regret in Milan while death of Karl Lagerfeld adds to downbeat feel
There were harlequin tunics, pantaloons cuffed at the ankle, ruffed Pierrot collars and tears painted on to faces as the new Gucci collection paraded the catwalk. But a clown is never just about merriment, and there were serious issues to be addressed at the show that opened Milan fashion week.
Designer Alessandro Michele, who worked under Karl Lagerfeld as an accessory designer for Fendi in the 1990s, said after the show that he had “really loved” the 85-year-old, who died on Tuesday. “He was a beautiful example to me, not just in fashion, but in life. He exemplified how to live. When we worked together he used to call me ‘the DJ’ because I always had music with me, and Karl loved music. He was like Peter Pan, like a 14-year-old boy. He liked to have the music so loud that you couldn’t speak.”