Hip-Hop Reacts to Death of Designer Karl Lagerfeld

Designer and fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld, best known for his work as the artistic director at Chanel, passed away at the age of 85 on Tuesday (Feb. 19). He was rumored to have been sick for some time, with the rumors peaking last month after he missed Chanel's fashion show in Paris. LVMH chairman and chief executive Bernard Arnault released a statement following the news of his passing.

"We have lost a creative genius who helped to make Paris the fashion capital of the world and Fendi one of the most innovative Italian houses,” Arnault said.

Hip-hop has had a long-standing relationship with Chanel, and stylist and creative director Kyle Luu spoke on that relationship with XXL recently. “Hip-hop embraced fashion before fashion embraced hip-hop.” In recent years, the luxury brand has worked closely with names among the likes of Pharrell and Frank Ocean, and artists like Rae Sremmurd have dedicated whole songs to the designer.

With that connection in mind, it's only natural that the hip-hop community immediately reacted to the news of Lagerfeld's passing. "Rest easy icon 🙏🏽 #karllagerfeld the Great🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 R.I.P," Swizz Beatz shared.

"Studied your legacy from young! Never could imagine I would one day work alongside you and be apart of the Chanel Family!" Theophilus London wrote on Instagram with a photo of himself and Lagerfeld. "Moments I will cherish forever 🖤 Farewell to a real legend Ps. This Chanel fitted was a one of one bootleg @chanelofficial and I made in New York City at Lidz."

Check out more reactions below.