Disney's "Becoming Karl Lagerfeld" is a Well Rounded Portrait of a Fashion Icon
Known for his signature tailored suits, fingerless gloves, and affinity for the chic and glamorous, Karl Lagerfeld is certainly a household name. His impact on the fashion industry is undeniable, spawning multiple films, books, and even a Met Gala theme honoring his work and legacy. But how did one Catholic German boy, born in Hamburg, leave such an indelible stamp on the fashion industry? "Becoming Karl Lagerfeld" answers this question in elegant, witty, and often heartbreaking detail.
The series, which stars Daniel Brühl as the titular French designer, takes place in the early 1970s when Lagerfeld is just breaking into the fashion scene. The cast will also feature Alex Lutz (Vortex) as Pierre Bergé and Théodore Pellerin (Never Rarely Sometimes Always) as Jacques de Bascher.
This captivating story of Karl Lagerfeld’s beginnings takes the watcher through his fashion journey before his icon status was cemented as Chanel's head designer. Included in this chaotic backstory is the designer's work with Chloé and Fendi, as well as his longstanding feud with Yves Saint Laurent. Based on Raphaëlle Bacqué’s biography of the designer Kaiser Karl, the show will also feature a complicated romantic element.
Aspiring writer and longtime muse of Lagerfeld, Jacques de Bascher, will be played by Théodore Pellerin. Their tumultuous (to say the least) relationship is explored throughout the show with Yves Saint Laurent sharing Lagerfelds affection for him. During a Q&A after the show's London screening, Brühl commented, “This is the first time that for me, as an actor, I was invited to deal with such an intense love story between two men.”
The show has met with an overwhelmingly positive response with critics praising the performance of the cast, as well as the colorful nature of the costuming and plot devices. TV critic Leila Latif called the series a "visual feast," noting the difficulty in capturing such a complex and truthfully problematic man's story. Several have also point out the emotional range that Brühl is able to imbue into an infamously unemotional person, someone who people discount as a mind more than a human. But if the show has done anything successfully, it has humanized one of the most genius minds in fashion history.
Karl Lagerfeld once told an interviewer, “We live in a dark and romantic and quite tragic world.” This series captures that sentiment tremendously, in a way Karl himself would have truly cherished.
