Lagerfeld documentary sparks intrigue
By FashionUnited
loading...
Karl Lagerfeld's documentary, Lagerfeld Confidentiel, is making fashion headlines since its select previews around the world. The film, which sees a UK release this October, offers a glimpse of the dark-spectacled grey ponytail designer. For his admirers, Karl Lagerfeld has long since succeeded in turning himself into a fashion icon. His persona is just as fascinating as his fashion and the film hopes to show convey who the persona is behind the sunglasses and knuckle rings.
Lagerfeld has long refused to provide a direct answer and aside from recent interviews, Lagerfeld has never discussed his private life before this extensive cinematic portrait. Working in close collaboration with his protagonist, director Rodolphe Marconi succeeded in recording over 150 hours of film material. The resulting film provides audiences with a closer, more intimate look at this famous creator of fashion that is more than just a record of his everyday life. In this portrait, we gain an insight into the man's personal history and his obsessions; we are presented with Karl Lagerfeld as a photographer and painter, as a great lover of the cinema, as a book collector and an art connoisseur, but also as neurotic, controlling and spoiled. Certainly, this is a film about luxury, money and style.
However, it is also about key moments in the life of the Hamburg-born fashion designer who grew up in Lübeck. Born to a wealthy family, the designer's encounter in early childhood with "Buddenbrooks" and "Nibelungen" was to have a lasting influence on him. In this film, Lagerfeld, who has lived in Paris since the 1950s, talks as openly about his 'wild years' as he does about the loss of his long-standing partner, who died of Aids in 1989. "I admire people who have the courage to destroy themselves," declares Lagerfeld. "They are the exact opposite of me."
Lagerfeld has long refused to provide a direct answer and aside from recent interviews, Lagerfeld has never discussed his private life before this extensive cinematic portrait. Working in close collaboration with his protagonist, director Rodolphe Marconi succeeded in recording over 150 hours of film material. The resulting film provides audiences with a closer, more intimate look at this famous creator of fashion that is more than just a record of his everyday life. In this portrait, we gain an insight into the man's personal history and his obsessions; we are presented with Karl Lagerfeld as a photographer and painter, as a great lover of the cinema, as a book collector and an art connoisseur, but also as neurotic, controlling and spoiled. Certainly, this is a film about luxury, money and style.
However, it is also about key moments in the life of the Hamburg-born fashion designer who grew up in Lübeck. Born to a wealthy family, the designer's encounter in early childhood with "Buddenbrooks" and "Nibelungen" was to have a lasting influence on him. In this film, Lagerfeld, who has lived in Paris since the 1950s, talks as openly about his 'wild years' as he does about the loss of his long-standing partner, who died of Aids in 1989. "I admire people who have the courage to destroy themselves," declares Lagerfeld. "They are the exact opposite of me."