Disney+ premiers Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, a captivating six-episode series exploring the iconic designer’s early years in 1970s Paris, starring Daniel Brühl as the enigmatic fashion legend.
The world of haute couture continues to inspire the small screen, as Disney+ prepares to launch Becoming Karl Lagerfeld on Friday, a highly anticipated production that delves into the rise of the fashion star, brilliantly portrayed by Daniel Brühl. Following the success of Balenciaga and The New Look, this series promises to offer a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of the most influential figures in the fashion industry.
Adapted from the biography Kaiser Karl by Le Monde journalist Raphaëlle Bacqué, the six-episode series follows the early steps of the young designer, pre-ponytail, as he navigates the ready-to-wear scene in 1970s Paris before becoming the emblematic couturier of the house of Chanel. The series explores Lagerfeld’s collaborations, rivalries, and most importantly, his relationship with dandy Jacques de Bascher, the great love of his life.
Daniel Brühl, known for his roles in Good Bye, Lenin! and Inglourious Basterds, embraced the challenge of portraying the enigmatic designer, who “fascinated the entire world” without revealing much about the man “behind the façade he had created.” Brühl, determined to avoid caricature, trained by speaking to himself “in French with a German accent” and found inspiration in the designer’s high-heeled shoes, which reminded him of “flamenco and toreros,” evoking the image of a “matador” before each take.
Raphaëlle Bacqué, who collaborated on the series with Isaure Pisani-Ferry, describes Lagerfeld as “a rather cold character at first glance, a man who masks his feelings a lot.” The challenge was to “restore an inner life” and “a form of vulnerability” to “this man who corseted himself all his life” and “lied all the time” about his nationality and age.
Directed by Jérôme Salle and Audrey Estrougo, this French production spared no expense in bringing Lagerfeld’s world to life, with over 2,200 extras, more than 40 sets, and a total of 3,000 costumes, including 160 entirely created by dedicated workshops. Jeanne Damas, founder of the Rouje brand and portraying designer Paloma Picasso in the series, emphasized that “there is not a single detail left to chance,” from the outfits to the makeup.
The launch of Becoming Karl Lagerfeld follows the success of the Spanish series Balenciaga and the American production The New Look, highlighting the growing appetite of streaming platforms for fashion-related content. Alex Lutz, who plays Pierre Bergé in the series, believes that “with hindsight, we are in a real time where fashion is a heritage” and “we can comfortably look in the rearview mirror” to create stories.
The fashion world, according to Daniel Brühl, is “very attractive” but also “unhealthy,” where “glamour, media hype, pretension but also tragedy, drama, and emptiness” coexist. Arnaud Valois, who portrays Yves Saint Laurent, adds that fashion figures “have created characters for themselves,” providing “inexhaustible material for directors and screenwriters.”
For streaming platforms, fashion-themed series offer an opportunity to expand their local production catalogs while appealing to global audiences through internationally recognized figures. Raphaëlle Bacqué hopes for the series’ success and the possibility of a second season set in the 1980s, as the current series only covers “a third” of her bestselling book, which has been translated into several languages.
With AFP
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