Karlie Kloss has paid tribute to the late fashion designer Sonia Rykiel.

Sonia Rykiel

Sonia Rykiel

The 24-year-old model has shared a heart warming message about the "Queen of knitwear", who died on Thursday (25.08.16) aged 86, via social media, and Karlie has admitted it was an "honour" to model for the Sonia's eponymous label and to have known the French flame-haired creative mastermind.

The blonde beauty posted a picture of Sonia to her Instagram account, which she captioned: "Remembering this rule-breaking fashion pioneer, queen of knitwear and one of the first designers I ever had the honor to walk for. Grateful to have known the legendary#SoniaRykiel (sic)."

And other prominent figures in the fashion industry have also shared their fond memories of Sonia with heartfelt tributes to her, including Mario Restino.

The 61-year-old Peruvian fashion photographer - who has worked on campaigns for prestigious publications and designer brands including Sonia Rykiel - posted a picture from a shoot with the fashion house to his Instagram account.

He wrote: "I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO WORK WITH SONIA IN THE 90S. SHE WAS AMAZING!! RIP

TUVE LA SUERTE DE TRABAJAR CON SONIA EN LOS 90S. ELLA ERA INCREÍBLE!! QEPD

@CarineRoitfeld #ChandraNorth@NathalieRykiel (sic)."

Sonia had been battling with Parkinson's disease for 15 years, and lost her battle to the neurological condition yesterday, which was confirmed by her 60-year-old daughter Nathalie Rykie.

Speaking about her loss Nathalie said: "My mother died at 05:00 this morning at her home in Paris from the effects of Parkinson's."

Despite suffering with the disease for almost two decades Sonia still remained as the honorary president of the company, although she was forced to stop designing luxury garments and highly popular clothing lines for the brand.

Meanwhile, Nathalie - who was appointed Artistic Director and CEO of Sonia Rykiel in 1995, and was promoted to President in 2007 - is believed to remain as the consultant for the brand.

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