19 photos that sum up Karl Lagerfeld's dramatic fashion world

As the world mourns his passing, here is a look at why Lagerfeld is considered such a legend in the high fashion world

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  With his famous fan in hand, Lagerfeld salutes the audience along with Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell for Chanel's 1996-97 autumn / winter haute couture show. AP

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  To celebrate the 90th birthday of Fendi, Lagerfeld staged a fashion show on Rome's Trevi Fountain, covering it with glass. The effect was that models, and here Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Fendi, seemed to walk on water. Reuters, Max Rossi

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  At Chloe, Lagerfeld introduced a flowing femininity, that remains the house code to this day. Here, he shows off a gypsy style dress from the autumn / winter 1977 collection. AFP

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  Only the world was enough for the Chanel autumn / winter 2013 women's ready-to-wear fashion show. Reuters

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  For his autumn /winter 2018 haute couture collection, Karl Lagerfeld rebuilt the Left Bank of Paris inside the Grand Palais. EPA

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  Such was his influence - and self deprecating humour - Lagerfeld even appeared in a government safety campaign in 2008. It reads: "It's yellow, it is ugly, it does not combine with anything, but it can save lives."

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  To create a wintry mood for autumn / winter 2018 ready to wear, a full-scale forest was made, with full-size trees and a floor thickly covered in leaves. EPA

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  A replica of the Chanel store was made for the spring / summer 2009 ready-to-wear collection show in Paris. AFP

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  Linda Evangelista, as the featured model on the day, was cocooned in white for the Chanel autumn / winter 2003 haute couture collection. AFP

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  Lagerfeld continued on with Gabrielle Chanel's mix of mannish suiting and feminine jewellery, as seen here in 1983. AFP

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  Lagerfeld standing in front of portraits from his book 'Little Black Jacket' in 2012. Reuters

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  Lagerfeld leads his placard-wielding models down the runway for spring / summer 2015 ready-to-wear. The whole stage was about protesting. Reuters

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  Clad in dramatic black, Lagerfeld walks the runway with Lily Donaldson, Coco Rocha, Freja Beha, Stella Tennant and one-time muse Ines de la Fressange for spring / summer 2011. EPA

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  Famously loyal to his favourite models, Lagerfeld was fond of Lily-Rose Depp, (seen here for Couture Spring 2017), as well as her mother, Vanessa Paradis. EPA

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  The 1990s were filled with bright colours, as shown in the looks worn by Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell for the 1997 spring /summer ready-to-wear collection. AP

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  For the autumn / winter 2008 women's ready-to-wear fashion show for Chanel, Lagerfeld had a giant carousel constructed. It even turned. Reuters

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  The Grand Palais in Paris was turned into a an arctic icefield for autumn / winter 2010 women's ready-to-wear. Reuters

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  Models dressed in space-age crash helmets for Chanel's spring / summer 2017 women's ready-to-wear collection. Reuters

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  For Chanel spring /summer 2019 Ready-to-Wear, Lagerfeld turned the Grand Palais into a space station, with a life-size rocket ship. AFP

To get a better idea of the contribution Karl Lagerfeld made to the world of fashion, it helps to look at some of the settings for his fashion shows, in particular for Chanel.

The staid white runway and simple backdrop was simply not for him.

Instead, Lagerfeld understood that spectacle is a vital element of fashion - the desire to see and be seen - and he took this to its logical conclusion, with elaborate shows that were as important as the clothes themselves.

Lagerfeld was well versed in the language of theatrics, and although he took his show on the road, offering collections in Cuba and even in Dubai, it was in Paris, in the Grand Palais, that he felt most at home.

He often used it to stage fantastical shows that included giant carousels and spaceships - scroll through the gallery above for a guide to his sense of dramatic, uncompromising style.