Karl Lagerfeld, the longtime creative director of Chanel and pioneering fashion icon, died Tuesday morning in Paris at age 85, prompting an outpouring of admiration on social media.
Shortly after Lagerfeld’s death was announced, Virginie Viard was named his successor and will take the reins as Chanel’s creative director. For more than three decades, Viard worked closely with Lagerfeld as studio director of fashion creation.
“Today the world lost a giant among men,” Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, said in a statement. “His creative genius was breathtaking and to be his friend was an exceptional gift. Karl was brilliant, he was wicked, he was funny, he was generous beyond measure, and he was deeply kind. I will miss him so very much.”
Here’s a sampling of what others had to say about Lagerfeld’s legacy.
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Karl Lagerfeld acknowledges the audience during the Chanel show as part of Paris Fashion Week in October 2018.
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Karl Lagerfeld and his godson, Hudson Kroenig, pose on the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2016/2017.
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Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld poses during the Champs Elysee Avenue illumination ceremony for the Christmas season, in Paris.
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Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi acknowledge applause following the presentation of the Fendi fashion collection during the Women’s Spring/Summer 2019 fashion shows in Milan, in September 2018.
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Princess Caroline of Monaco and fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld arrive March 24, 2018, for the Rose Ball at the Monte-Carlo Sporting Club in Monaco.
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Karl Lagerfeld attends the LVMH Prize 2018 Edition at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.
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Karl Lagerfeld and a guest walk the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2019 in Paris.
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Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld walks the runway during the Chanel Metiers D’Art 2018/19 Show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
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Karl Lagerfeld greets the audience on the runway during the Chanel Haute Couture Fall Winter 2018/2019 show as part of Paris Fashion Week.
(Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images) 
