PBS高端访谈:香奈儿"老佛爷"去世（在线收听）

JUDY WOODRUFF: A giant of the fashion world passed away today. Karl Lagerfeld helped to shape the modern fashion industry through his work with the most influential designers and his own personal style. Jeffrey Brown has our remembrance. It's part of our ongoing arts and culture series, Canvas.

JEFFREY BROWN: His name was synonymous with luxury fashion for well over half-a-century. The German-born designer spent the bulk of his career at the helm of some of the world's biggest fashion houses.

KARL LAGERFELD, Fashion Designer: You know, fashion is not needed. There are many other problems in the world which may be more important, so this is not a problem. But it's an industry. And, you know, fashion has to go with time. If fashion doesn't go with time, fashion would be lost.

JEFFREY BROWN: Lagerfeld transformed the Italian brand Fendi, becoming its creative director in 1965, and spent 20 years designing for the French label Chloe. But he's best remembered for being the creative force behind the French fashion house Chanel, taking over in 1983 and working until his death. He took what some then saw as a stodgy label and added all manner of attention-grabbing designs, including reinventing the iconic tweed suits for a younger set, slashing hemlines and adding glitzy accents. Robin Givhan is fashion critic for The Washington Post.

ROBIN GIVHAN, The Washington Post: He revived Chanel when he took it over. At that point, the founder had been deceased for almost 10 years, and it was somewhat of a dusty brand. It certainly lived on in its fragrance Chanel No. 5, but he was one of those first designers who went into a venerable old house and reinvented it, and did so to incredible financial success.

JEFFREY BROWN: Lagerfeld was just as well-known for his distinct personal style: his signature ponytail, dark sunglasses, and black fingerless leather gloves. Today, shoppers outside the Chanel store in Paris today lamented the fashion industry's loss.

ERIC JAMIN, Chanel Shopper: Karl Lagerfeld represented creation, freedom, an era. What is scary now is that there used to be great artists and inventors. We went through a period when we were reinventing a bit and getting inspired, and now we are starting to lose the people who served as inspirations.

JEFFREY BROWN: That singular vision was on full display at his runway shows, making catwalks out of the unlikeliest of places, from the Great Wall of China to a mockup of an airport terminal. Lagerfeld didn't appear at Chanel's January show in Paris to take his customary bow, setting off rumors he was ill. The fashion house confirmed his death today in Paris. Karl Lagerfeld was 85 years old.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And it was worth it just hearing her play.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：时尚界的一位大咖今天去世了。他是卡尔·拉格菲尔德，他曾助力塑造了现代时尚界，他曾与多位最有影响力的设计师合作过，充分展现了自己的风格。下面请听杰弗里·布朗发回的报道。他的帆布包设计依然存在于当代艺术和文化作品中。

杰弗里·布朗：近半个多世纪以来，他的名字一直是奢侈时尚的标签。这位设计大咖出生于德国，他职业生涯中又很长一段时间都在世界上规模最大的时尚王国中度过。

卡尔·拉格菲尔德，时尚设计师：大家都知道，时尚并非生活的必需品。世界上有很多其他事情比时尚本身更为重要，所以时尚不是人们心头肉，但时尚界是一个行业，这一点无可厚非。还有一点：时尚要与时俱进。如果做不到这一点，时尚就失去了意义。

杰弗里·布朗：拉格菲尔德颠覆了意大利品牌芬迪。他于1965年担任该品牌的创意总监，并用20年时间打造了法国品牌克洛伊。但人们印象最深的还是他为法国时尚品牌香奈儿担任创意设计师的佳话——他1983年接手后，就一直为香奈儿倾力设计，直到他去世。他推崇的标签，那时在很多人看来都十分庸俗。他在此基础上添加了抓人眼球的设计，包括为年轻人群重新设计了标志性的花呢服装，将底边大幅度缩减，同时增加了闪亮的元素。罗宾是《华盛顿邮报》的时尚评论家。

罗宾，《华盛顿邮报》：拉格菲尔德接手香奈儿后，这个品牌得到了重生。他接手的时候，香奈儿的创始人已经过世近10年，这个品牌已经无人问津。他不仅延续了香奈儿5号香水的气味，他也是第一批深入古宅并重新设计的设计师，并凭借这样的设计获得了巨大的商业成功。

杰弗里·布朗：拉格菲尔德独特的个人风格世人皆知——他的招牌马尾、黑色墨镜、黑皮无指手套。今天，巴黎香奈儿门店外的顾客络绎不急，他们都为这位时尚界大咖的离去而哀悼。

埃里克·雅明，香奈儿门店顾客：拉格菲尔德代表着一个时代的创新与自由。令人感到可怕的是：以前有很多大咖艺术家和发明家。我们曾经历过一个时期，那时候，我们会进行些许的再创造，并从中获得灵感。而现在，我们正在慢慢失去那些给我们灵感的人。

杰弗里·布朗：他独树一帜的设计作品正在时装秀上全面展出，在诸多不可能发生的地方进行着T台走秀，从中国的长城到飞机场航站楼的实体模型。拉格菲尔德并未出席在1月份巴黎举行的香奈儿展览中，也没能向大家致以礼貌性的鞠躬。那时候，流言四起，说他生病了。今天，巴黎香奈儿证实了他离世的消息。卡尔·拉格菲尔德享年85岁。