Let’s go with the truth ahead: I have seen Becoming Karl Lagerfeld without having much interest in fashion and almost completely ignoring the very famous German designer, which is a disadvantage when analyzing whether the new series of Disney+ It is faithful to reality. That said, it is no less true that it is a series made for all audiences, so you do not have to be an expert in the field to be able to enjoy this haute couture show.
The biography of the couturier, turned into a six-episode miniseries which is based on the profile prepared by the journalist Raphaëlle Bacqué (Kaiser Karl), premieres this Friday, June 7, on the platform that a few months ago rolled out the red carpet to welcome another couture giant, the Spanish Cristobal Balenciaga.
Lagerfeld’s catwalk leads us to the Paris of the 70s, the city to which he moved from Germany to succeed among sewing machines. It was difficult for him to make his way among the giants of fashion, but he ended up achieving it even when he seemed destined to fall into ostracism.
The series reflects the efforts of the designer (who died in 2019) to reach the top inside and outside the world. ready-to-wear. He became obsessed with success, he was a slave to his ambitions and became secretive, perhaps to avoid taking false steps, perhaps to avoid inopportune emotions that would divert him from his goal. The actor Daniel Bruhl He is made of stone to star in this story full of exciting moments, loaded with witty comments and lapidary phrases.
It seems that there were two people who managed to assault Lagerfeld’s sentimental fortress: Yves Saint Laurent (played by Arnaud Valois) and Jacques de Bascher (Theodore Pellerin). The first was his friend, his rival and his obsession; The second he met by chance and she became the great love of his life.
The three wove a unhealthy relationship based on admiration, envy, blackmail, betrayal and the purchase of wills. The power of money versus the power of seduction. Buy with a gesture, with a well-calculated look, what cannot be bought with money; and earn with a checkbook what you cannot have any other way. People who hide their fragility until they can no longer carry any more lies. Success and loneliness, that unfortunate couple.
The series tries not to go into too much trouble
Created by Isaure Pisani-Ferry, Jennifer Have and Raphaelle Bacqué, Becoming Karl Lagerfeld He tells us all this without getting intense. The series is precise because it is condensed into six 40 minute episodes, although he takes his time to move delicately through this amalgamation of feelings. But sometimes she is frivolous, she has emotional leaps that are difficult to digest and lacks an essential context that, although it is intuited thanks to the presence of the maternal figure, seems insufficient given the very complex personality of the protagonist.
It is a true drama (these geniuses lived in complete agony) that does not lack moments of comedy and fun, so it has a fairly entertaining story. In fact, the script even offers small doses of thriller for those of us who were unaware of Lagerfeld’s history, since his extreme rivalry with Pierre Berge (partner of Yves Saint Laurent) had really dark moments that add suspense to the plot.
Becoming Karl Lagerfeld is a refreshing series, a quick and nice look at the recent history of European fashion. Some of those who have studied his career say that it is a superficial and somewhat sugarcoated portrait, too benevolent towards someone who made certain controversial statements about women, immigrants, weight and gay marriage.
Something of all this subtly appears in Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, which is possibly perceived as a simple tribute to the self-made genius. It is true that the series does not go deep enough, it does not unravel the complex personality of the artist, but the script is full of small details that suggest who this ambitious designer was who preferred anonymity but dressed as pompously as the Sun King.
