All over social media posts are going up about the legend, the genius, the great Karl Lagerfeld. Being Giorgio Cuellar, maybe my feed has seen more of it since most of my friends and connections are in the fashion industry, but everyone from Supreme to Rihanna has also posted to pay their respect and express their admiration.

That makes sense, any time someone passes it seems natural for those close to them to reflect and share — it helps with the grieving. It also makes sense for people like me, who work in the fashion industry and therefore have directly studied and admired Karl and his work for years. But what about for you? What about those who are anti-fashion and don’t give a shit about high-end designers? What about the working class that can’t afford Chanel or Fendi and wouldn’t spend their money on that even if they could? Why should they care about the passing of Karl Lagerfeld?

Because at the end of the day, he was just like them.

Karl is someone who didn’t take what he did too seriously, which is crazy to think about because of how seriously he was taken by the world. When compared to an artist he said designers weren’t artists and shouldn’t consider themselves as such. Hal Rubenstein recalls Karl saying, “ Designing clothes is working class. I am working class. Designing as an art is so contrived. It is not my job to express the pain and suffering of the world in taffeta”. And he’s right, designing is to help people look and feel their best, while artists have the responsibility to reveal the truth they see, the good and the bad.

Karl also famously took inspiration from real life and transformed it into incredible collections. And while his real life certainly could have been much more luxurious than most, that wasn’t what he focused on. An avid reader (in four languages) he preferred to read about places and then later if he traveled there to compare them to how he imagined them, seeing if they lived up to what he cooked up in his head. As someone who has traveled a bit, but read even more, I can relate to finding inspiration from a combination of articles, books, and my imagination. While some of the runway shows had rockets, or were on The Great Wall of China or the Trevi Fountain, some of his most famous shows were a barnyard, an airport terminal, or the legendary Chanel Supermarket.

He was the first to do a high-end collaboration with H&M and called them out for a limited release which sold out in minutes. That’s a man who understands that not everyone can afford Chanel or Fendi prices but wants Lagerfeld designs. His collaboration, by the way, made future collaborations like Versace, Balmain, and Kenzo possible and disrupted the fashion industry as a whole. He’s the reason you can get designer collaborative pieces not just at H&M but at places like Target. Not only did he disrupt price points but with expensive brands like Chanel, he changed the styles from something reserved for wealthy housewives to looks that everyone could wear. His collections referenced climate change as well as modern feminism. His show on the Great Wall was very inclusive of Chinese models. While not taking himself too seriously he still did serious good with his life’s work.

Karl was just a man who loved what he did, he loved it so much that he moved to Paris as a teenager and defied all odds by becoming successful despite not fashion or art school education. He loved it so much that he kept a sketchpad by his bed and was constantly working. He loved what he did to the point that he was the creative director for two enormous fashion houses while also building his own brand and working as a fashion photographer. Yes, he dressed in a way that seemed standoffish, but it was a gate to keep out the masses. Those who got through that barrier have all talked about how open and kind he was. He wouldn’t stop working, but he would have people sit next to him and talk while he kept sketching and designing.

Was he rich? Of course, but who wouldn’t be if they were considered a genius in their field and worked the equivalent of four full-time jobs? Was he cold? German and Parisian cultures are both considered “cold” compared to others, but everyone who got to know him praised him for his kindness. If anything he was just a private and witty man who kept himself so busy that he was selective with who got to know him at that level. Does his cat fly in a private jet? Okay, that’s a little harder to relate to, but really who doesn’t provide the very best they can for the ones they love?

Karl was a man who loved extra hard, whether we’re talking about love for his work, his friends, or his cat. He was a man who picked a few things he couldn’t live without and worked his absolute hardest at them. He was someone who remembered where he came from and appreciated where he was. Like any man, he was imperfect, but he was great. And whether you’re a banker, a mechanic, a boxer, or a designer — isn’t that greatness what we all strive for?