Despite the fact that Karl Lagerfeld doesn’t celebrate birthdays, the Couture Council at FIT planned a celebratory lunch in his honor on the day of his birth, September 10th, inviting close friends and fashion insiders to Avery Fisher Hall for a seated affair. The brilliant designer was heralded by a few of his model muses, including Veronica Webb, who admitted she has sketches from Karl decorating her closet, Elisa Sednaoui and Poppy Delevigne, along with Andre Leon Talley, Daphne Guinness, Glenda Bailey, Hilary Alexander, and Rachel Zoe.
Between courses, Simon Doonan served as emcee, but had trouble snagged the crowd’s attention, as everyone was simply too excited to be together in one room again after summer vacations. After lunch, Diane Kruger - who claims she’s known Karl for over half her life and credits him for shaping her into the woman she’s begun - presented the designer with his award, saying, “Almost every women from Kansas city to Kyoto owns a piece of your design and those that don’t, want to badly.” The ever-humble Karl graciously accepted his award with a short but sweet speech - so short in fact that he forgot to take it back to his seat. “You see, I think I don’t deserve it,” he joked, before returning to his chair next to Anna Wintour. In a touching and sweet moment, a few remarks from Karl’s good friend Valentino were conveyed, as he wasn’t able to join. And while Karl hates looking back at memories, Valentino expressed the importance of remembering where they came from, in order to look towards the future and celebrate their successes. ~ Bianca Posterli
