The sad story about Karl and love

Today the message finally came: Karl Lagerfeld has passed away at the age of 85. He will be missed. May recently wrote about him and love…

Since Karl was the big missing link at the Chanel couture show, he has been on my mind even more than usual. Because it makes it clear that a period is coming without Karl. No matter how much I want it not to be so and wear my T-shirt with the text ‘What Would Karl Do?’ every day, the fact remains that he will eventually sit near a geranium (or in his case a bouquet from Lachaume Paris). Therefore, today the story about Karl and love.

The story goes that Yves Saint Laurent once took Karl's boyfriend away and that this planted the seed for an everlasting jealousy of Karl towards Yves.

But this story needs some nuance. This struggle was about Jacques de Bascher de Beaumarchais, a socialite from a large and wealthy family who lived in an apartment in Neuilly-Sur-Seine. Jacques worked as a steward for Air France and threw himself into the Paris nightlife at full speed. Karl was charmed by his way of dressing, his zest for life, and of course his aristocratic background.

The two formed a duo, but in their long love, they never shared a front door. Their relationship was said to be more sentimental than physical, and moreover, Karl was a teetotaler when it came to alcohol and drugs, while Jacques, how shall I put it, well, made up for that difference and kept the average alcohol consumption and average drug use quite high.

And then in 1973, suddenly there was Yves Saint Laurent, also someone who regularly received gnome mail and liked to puff on the water pipe. Yves and Jacques were quite the duo, while Jacques had Karl and Yves had the good Pierre Bergé. Together they could be their wild selves, but after a while, they both longed for a safe base and returned to their solid loves. Yves with Pierre and Jacques with Karl.

Yet Jacques could not find peace. He continued to go out excessively and enjoy the nightlife. Sex, drugs, alcohol; everything was sans limites. This resulted in an HIV diagnosis in 1984. In 1989, he died from the consequences in the Hôpital de Garches in Paris. Next to Karl. Who had placed his bed next to his.

After Jacques' death, who had the nickname Jako, Karl bought a villa in Hamburg which he named Villa Jako. He also created the perfume Jako, so that his dearly beloved would always be remembered.

Karl never found a new love. He did say that if it were legally possible, he would marry Choupette, his cat.

Karl, I love you.

Main image: Paris Diary and Twitter Karl Lagerfeld