Despite the legacy left by the acclaimed German designer, there is much discussion over whether his legacy is worth lauding or worth forgetting.
One of fashion world’s greatest creative icons left our world last week, and while most people lauded the legendary Karl Lagerfeld’s work, some felt that the loss of a controversial character is someone not worth celebrating. Lagerfeld has never been a person who was shy of letting his opinions being known about women, fashion and society. Granted that Lagerfeld created long-lasting trends that changed the creative world of fashion, Lagerfeld also became infamous for his comments on plus-size women, people of colour and feminism. Allow me to explain.
Born in Hamburg, Germany - in the year of 1933 - it is probably easy to surmount that Lagerfeld’s ideals and opinions were formed in an era where sexism, racism and political unrest were ferociously high during his upbringing. One could describe Lagerfeld as a creative genius who created looks and collections that were timeless, but possessed the mind and opinions of an outdated man. While many people wanted to cry at the loss of Lagerfeld, I was stuck in two places with regards to his death. The first place was the site where I had to decide what it was about Lagerfeld that I would celebrate.
Lagerfeld was a man who made it public that he did not find fat women attractive or worthy of wearing high fashion couture. In his words, “No one wants to see curvy women”, and one cannot help but wonder why we continued to support a man whose views on women (and men - he called artist Andy Warhol repulsive) were destructive, yet we still continued to kiss the runways that Lagerfeld walked on. Some of Lagerfeld’s infamous comments on fat women targeted older women who had children and were considered not to be his target market for his collections with French and Italian fashion houses Chanel and Fendi. Side note - let’s not forget the time Lagerfeld had Claudia Schiffer appear "black" and "Asian" in a 2010 editorial shoot, committing the horrible acts of Black face and Yellow face in one photo shoot (he’s relentless).
Another crazy thing about Lagerfeld is how he was not remorseful for his comments. When making the comments about Muslims being bigger enemies to Germany than the Nazis, Lagerfeld added that “You cannot kill millions of Jews and then take in millions of their worst enemies afterwards, even if there are decades [between the two events]”. In 1994, Chanel was forced to apologize to the public and the Islamic community when Lagerfeld designed several dresses embellished with verses from the Qur'an. - it surprises me that people were getting shocked and upset by a man who lived during the generation of World War II, a period where racism, misogyny and sexism were heightened. Please understand me when I say that I am not defending his actions in any way, I’m just pointing out that like a leopard, Lagerfeld could not change his personality or his opinions, no matter how loud the outcry by the public. It’s who he was.
If I had to list Lagerfeld’s achievements against his controversial moments, his achievements would easily outrank the latter, but the problem is that by outranking the controversial moments, we are letting someone comment in such a way without punishment. In all the cases where Lagerfeld was wrong (take the fatphobic comment he made about Heidi Klum), he would release a half-assed apology before moving on and creating a fashion-forward collection with a side of new controversial statements. Another example of his brash verbal diahorrea was when he decided to comment on the Me-Too movement, stating “there are the starlets who have taken 20 years to remember what happened. Not to mention the fact that there are no prosecution witnesses” while also defending his friend and collaborator - stylist Karl Temper (who vehemently denied the allegations of groping models on set).
The second place is how much I want to thank Lagerfeld for his commitment and contribution to the creative industry. From winning a coat design competition, to working for Pierre Balmain and designing for major brands like Chloe, Charles Jourdan and Valentino - Lagerfeld’s hands were considered gold with how all of his collections were a success in the world of high fashion. Lagerfeld challenged the fashion norms with his themes and models (he infamously used strippers and an adult film-star for his 1993 Milan fashion show for Fendi - which made Anna Wintour walk out), and was never regretful for his choices. I had to commend the legendary designer and give credit to where it was due. Lagerfeld brought his own statement and vibrancy to the fashion world through Chanel, Fendi and his eponymous fashion brand, Karl Lagerfeld. "I'm never pleased with myself. I always think I'm lazy and that I could do better” (a quote that he made in 2011).
To put it plainly, Karl Lagerfeld deserves all of the awards and more, but to call him a legend is very difficult for me personally, because while he was great on the creative side, on the social side, he was simply horrid. The scary part is that throughout all of his controversies, people still continued to support him and the fashion houses he designed for, which tells me that if you have the legend status - you can get away with almost anything.
All of that said, I hope that Lagerfeld’s creative legacy lives on, something which people saw at Chanel’s recent fashion show at Paris Fashion Week, which showcased Lagerfeld’s last collection with the theme of winter wonderland at the Grand Palais, featuring the appearances of actress Penelope Cruz, models Cara Delevingne and Mariaclara Boscono, and Lagerfeld’s muse Caroline de Maigret. Rest in Peace Karl Lagerfeld, and take your controversial fatphobic, sexist, racist and misogynistic comments with you to heaven.
May we not experience another version of you on this earth.
Love, light and blessings xx
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