Designer Karl Lagerfeld missed his usual end-of-show bow at Chanel's summer showcase in Paris on Tuesday, as the increasingly frail couturier said he was "tired."

Lagerfeld, 85, was instead replaced at the end of the runway showcase by his longtime studio director Virginie Viard appeared through a door in the lavish Italian villa decor that had been painstakingly created by the house.​

The absence immediately prompted surprise and concern about Lagerfeld's health from many fashion editors attending the show at the Grand Palais, which had been dressed up as nn 18th-century Italian villa for the event.

At the end of the first show at 10 a.m., an announcement explained the designer would appear for the noon presentation. But come noon, the German-born couturier was absent again.

It's the first time in recent memory that Lagerfeld, who has designed for the Parisian stalwart since 1983 and was a contemporary of the late Yves Saint Laurent, has not been physically present to receive applause at the end of a show.

In a statement, Chanel said "for the traditional greeting at the end of the show, Mr. Lagerfeld, artistic director of Chanel, who was feeling tired" asked Viard "to represent him" — without providing any further details.

Despite the unease created by Lagerfeld's absence, a gentle geometry defined Chanel's summer silhouette on Tuesday — one that riffed on the décor's impressive architecture. The set this season featured a shimmering Italian Chanel villa at centre-stage, with steps that led the gaze down to live palm trees, grass and a rectangular pool.

Paris's Grand Palais was reimagined as an 18th-century Italian villa for Chanel's 2019 spring/summer haute couture showcase on Tuesday. (Christophe Ena/Associated Press)