An Afternoon With Karl Lagerfeld

The iconic designer and visionary is honored – and wOw’s Sharon Hoge shares the details of the celebration.

• The setting was Avery Fisher Hall just across the plaza from the tent housing the first Lincoln Center Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week shows and events.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• A crush of photographers set up in the lobby of Avery Fisher Hall to record celebrities and guests.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Reporters greeted the designer, whose gray-on-gray ensemble and exaggerated high collar reflect his passion for historic French fashion.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• While guests dined on couscous salad, chicken and strawberry shortcake, the guest of honor, who recently lost almost 100 pounds, requested special food for lunch.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Seated on Lagerfeld's right was Vogue editor Anna Wintour, the prototype for the notorious character in "The Devil Wears Prada." The day of the luncheon, September 10, was Lagerfeld's birthday, a secret he refused to have acknowledged.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Simon Doonan of Barney's introduced the program, repeating favorite Lagerfeld quotes. At age four, when asked by his mother what he'd like as a gift, Lagerfeld is said to have answered, "a valet."

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Movie star Diane Kruger, a Lagerfeld muse, introduced her patron applauding his wide range of knowledge and his generosity.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Sharon Bush was one of many guests wearing Chanel tweed and fringe in honor of the designer.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Contemporary style icon Daphne Guinness wore a Chanel "uniform" and tottered on transparent high heels.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Martha Stewart and Susan Gutfreund were among the Lagerfeld fans present.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Designer Charlotte Moss, a board member of the Couture Council, posed with friends author Francesca Stanfill and Deeda Blair.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Best Dressed Hall of Fame Hall member Lynn Wyatt came up from Texas to celebrate her longtime friend.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Laura Santo Domingo is on this year's Best Dressed List.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Best-dressed and frequently photographed publicist Somers Farkas

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Illustrator Ruben Toledo accompanied his wife, Isabel, designer of Michelle Obama's yellow Inauguration coat and dress.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Wedding gown designer Pat Kerr took time out from preparing her own Fashion Week show of elaborate lacy dresses.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Among gentlemen present were Picasso biographer John Richardson, Vogue editor André Leon Talley and Harold Koda, director of the fashion institute at the Metropolitan Museum.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Writer Jackie Weld caught up with Town & Country editor William Norwich.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Carol Mack's beige dress had transparent back panels.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Former Bill Blass muse, television hostess and gift shop proprietress Nina Griscom

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Coco Kopelman, wife of former Chanel board vice-chairman Arie Kopelman.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Shoes from a Chanel collection and a whimsical handbag bearing Lagerfeld's portrait

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Financial expert Angela Chen wore a proper luncheon chapeau.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Other hats were more extreme.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

• Departing guests took home "Quintessentially" appropriate gifts – bags with bottles of iconic Chanel No. 5 perfume.

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  Photo by Sharon Hoge

  

With Fashion’s Night Out only hours away, an ultra stylish crowd from the best-dressed list, fashion media and society gathered at a Lincoln Center luncheon to bestow the Fashion Visionary Award to legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld. Clad in their own best finery, style leaders greeted Chanel’s creative director and chief designer, who was wearing his signature ponytail hairstyle and fingerless gloves. Sponsored by luxury lifestyle concierge service Quintessentially, the festive afternoon raised funds for the Couture Council’s support of the museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Editor’s Note: Sharon King Hoge specializes in consumer and travel journalism both in print and on radio and television. The former Consumer Reporter at WBZ-TV and producer/host of “The Sharon King Show” in Boston, she reported on ABC network news, hosted “The Cookbook Kitchen” on the Food Channel and participated in the launch of CNBC. A Contributing Editor at Condé Nast Traveler and Global Traveler magazines, her writing has appeared in Forbes FYI and Forbes Executive Woman, SELF, Ladies Home Journal, National Review. A former columnist for both AOL and the New York Daily News, she was Calendar Editor for the Martha Stewart Living website and is Editor at Large of the three regional Cottages and Gardens shelter magazines.