The fashion industry is diminished today.

Karl Lagerfeld was one of the—no. He was THE grandmaster of fashion. Complete shitlord. Did what he wanted, NFG. Master troll. Didn’t capitulate to terrorists or PETA anti-fur weirdos or anyone, really.

Basically he was the complete opposite of the fashion pack mentality.

Karl has been judging my bulletin board since 2009

The man was a force of nature. He was of the same era as designers like Yves Saint Laurent, but unlike YSL who eventually gave up and died, Karl kept living. He ran creative for multiple high-profile brands at once, actively did photography, and never gave the fashion media what it wanted.

The more I think about it, the more I appreciate how much Karl carved out a space for himself in fashion using villain tactics, along the same lines of Trump and Cernovich.

These tactics include, but are not limited to, the fact that he:

  • Created a look for himself that was immediately identifiable and almost impossible for anyone else to pull off. I’m reminded of Alice Cooper, who also used the villain trope.
  • Always, always shipped. (See: “Real artists ship.”) The man worked.
  • Gave the something to talk about. Whether it was the Wookie Suit or the Vulva Scarf (see above), he created news cycles.

Karl’s death has left a huge void in fashion.

The only two people I can think of who might be able to step up and fill it are John Galliano or Marc Jacobs. Both are creative enough. Galliano has already fallen from grace once, and Marc Jacobs is a known troll.

Anyway. Weird things happen when there’s a void. We shall see.

RIP, Uncle Karl.