Karl Lagerfeld will reportedly be cremated, and his ashes will be mixed with those of his late partner, Jacques de Bascher, who died in 1989.
According to the Daily Mail, the iconic Chanel designer, who died at the age of 85 on February 19, was in a relationship with de Bascher for 18 years before he died of AIDS in the late 1980s. His partner was a prominent figure in the fashion party circle in Paris during the 1970s, where he was known as a "bad boy." Lagerfeld himself claimed he never slept with de Bascher, who was also involved with Yves Saint Laurent, and this was something the German fashion designer was well aware of. But de Bascher was one of his closest companions in life, and despite his hatred of all things death-related, Lagerfeld cared for him in his final days and even organized his funeral.
In regard to his own funeral arrangements, the Chanel mastermind famously said, "There will be no funeral. I'd rather die!" However, he did express his desire for his ashes to be mixed with those of his mother, as well as of his beloved cat, Choupette. But now, speculation arose surrounding the idea that in addition to being reunited with his mother, he could also be reunited with his "great love," Jacques de Bascher. Not much was known about the latter until Lagerfeld agreed to be interviewed by journalist Marie Ottavi in 2017 to provide information for her book, Jacques de Bascher, dandy de l'ombre.