He may be the subject of the 2023 Met Gala, but now Karl Lagerfeld’s life and legacy is also receiving the biopic treatment, with the German fashion magnate heading to the silver screen.
Following in the footsteps of fashion greats whose eccentric careers and bodies of work have been commemorated in pop culture, like Halston in Halston (original) or Maurizio Gucci in House Of Gucci, Lagerfeld is the latest to design maven to have their story artistically retold through film.
Fitting, considering Chanel’s astute relationship with cinema.
As per reports by WWD, Jared Leto will be the one to helm the project and will take on the titular role as Karl. According to the publication, Leto even told Karl when they first met that “one day I have to play you in a movie”. Talk about the power of manifesting a dream into existence.
Leto, who is Alessandro Michele’s muse (Gucci’s creative director), is no stranger to the inner workings of the fashion industry, so given his prevalence as a menswear icon it’s only fitting that he has the gravitas to portray such a polarising figure.
“I feel like this is a full-circle moment and Karl would be proud of what we are doing,” Leto added.
“Karl was an artist. Period. He was a fashion designer, he was a photographer, he was an artist. There was no defining him. He was a creative powerhouse.
“My role is to portray him on screen as honestly as possible
“With celebrity, most people don’t get to see under the surface. They see one or two facets of a person as presented through a public lens. Karl was a human being.
We all have beauty within us and we all have faults. We have masks and then we have moments when we reveal the mask. I’m always interested in seeing what’s behind the mask.”
Leto, who was a regular at Chanel’s Haute Couture shows and even holidayed with the late Lagerfeld in Saint Tropez (chic), is not only starring in the lead role, but producing the film alongside three of Lagerfeld’s collaborators.
But what will the film actually touch on? Lagerfeld had a notoriously complicated relationship-turned-rivalry with Yves Saint Laurent, which was only escalated in 1973 when both men were “engaged” with French dandy Jacques de Bascher.
Of course, with these relationships an integral part of Karl’s life, as revealed by the late André Leon Talley in his memoir The Chiffon Trenches, it will certainly play an integral role in the film.
“There are a multitude of relationships to explore. Karl had a career that spanned 50-plus years so both personally and professionally he was close to a number of people. I can say we are going to home in on key relationships that convey different parts of his life,” Leto also revealed.
While the name of the biopic, nor who will play Lagerfeld’s long-time companion, the most stylish Birman cat alive Choupette, has been revealed, we’re sure this will be one film worth waiting for.
