Fashion legend and Chanel's boss Karl Lagerfeld passes away at 85Feb 19 (AZINS) German haute-couture designer Karl Lagerfeld, artistic director at Chanel and an icon of the global fashion industry for over half a century, has died, a source at the French fashion house Chanel said on Tuesday. He was 85.

Lagerfeld, instantly recognisable in his dark suits, pony-tailed white hair and tinted sun glasses, was best known for his association with Chanel but simultaneously delivered collections for LVMH's Fendi and his own eponymous label.

French celebrity online magazine Purepeople said Lagerfeld died on Tuesday morning after being rushed to a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine just outside Paris the night before.A spokesman for Chanel was not immediately available for comment.

The prolific fashion designer had given the Chanel's Paris haute couture show in January due to ill health. It was for the first time that he had missed the Chanel's show.