Patricia Altschul Pays Tribute to Karl Lagerfeld, Who Designed Her 2005 Met Gala Look

Tributes are pouring in for Karl Lagerfeld, as the fashion world looks back on the Chanel designer's life and legacy. And while some of us might have just watched Chanel's dreamy fashion shows online, Southern Charm matriarch and fashionista Patricia Altschul was lucky enough to sit on the front row and to own a Lagerfeld-designed ball gown. Patricia posted a remembrance of the designer's creative genius on Instagram, with a photo of the voluminous dress she once wore to the Met Gala (click here to see it). 

"My favorite ball gown created by Karl Lagerfeld which I wore to the Met Gala with his dear friend André Leon Talley," Patricia wrote in the caption. "I was privileged to be front row at the Chanel Couture shows during the golden age of fashion when Karl and Yves reigned supreme," she wrote. Here's Patricia and Talley looking glorious on the Met Gala red carpet back in 2005:

Talley, Patricia's friend and famed Vogue editor, tracked down this couture gown from Los Angeles vintage boutique LILY et Cie. "Thankfully, the confection of black organza and lace fit," Patricia wrote in her book The Art of Southern Charm. "The night of the gala, André picked me up in a Maybach towncar and I could barely get the dress through the door. The skirt was so voluminous that it filled the back seat and blocked the rear window!"

That gorgeous gown even ended up in a museum exhibit: according to Vogue, Patricia gave the SCAD Museum of Art her Lagerfeld-designed dress so it could be featured in an installation by Talley in 2011.