Becoming Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld was an enigma and an immense talent who led a breathtaking life. 2024 is the year of big fashion series: after the fantastic Balenciaga and the unwatchable The new look (Binoche as Chanel was the only highlight and Apple's decision to have Australian and American actors play French characters in English is unforgivable), Becoming Karl Lagerfeld is another huge success for Hulu/ Disney. The series only focuses on Karl's early years as the designer for hire and his relationship with Jaques de Bascher in the 70s. He was already quite successful designing for the Fendi sisters, Chloe, Jourdan etc. But these were formative years before climbing Chanel's throne in the 80s. The series is excellent, witty, sexy, exciting and so so good. Highly recommended and hats off to Daniel Brühl for pulling this off!

I was really looking forward to this series .......... But - to me - it was a bait and switch. It was the story of Jacques de Bascher, not Lagerfeld. And, frankly, I didn't care for Jacques.

This is a very sad story of two men who were brilliant designers, Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent and the man who reeked havoc in both their lives (rather who they let into their lives) - Jacques de Bascher.

Had this been advertised in a different way, it would have been excellent - the actors were all brilliant. But I did not learn a whole lot about Lagerfeld becoming a designer and that was why I watched it. As it was, I came away depressed for what both Lagerfeld and Saint Laurent endured (willingly!) at the hands of a young man who knew his power and abused it with glee.

As in all things, to each his own.

As many people already said here - it's just a scratch on the surface, that's not about Karl it's about Jacques,...

I agree, it's just a scratch on the surface, but it's not a mistake, it's just a different perspective on Karl's life. Maybe it was different, maybe not, but who knows?

As his Daniel said - He never lost touch with the pulse. A time of revolution, of sexual liberation and then there's that anachronistic lement to it because Karl Lagerfeld very often lived in his ntellectual realm and in his fantasy and with the money that he had earned was capable of creating these cerebral worlds, these fairytale paradises, especially for the love of his life. He bought a castle and everything within the castle had to be perfect down to the candles. To play someone who does that with so much dedication and obsession and precision was fascinating.

I really like the way of acting, Daniel is experienced actor and great choice for Karl. Théodore is same age as me, he exactly knew, what to do and I do not agree with others, his acting may be different, but not childish or boring. Visuals are great, so don't judge a book by it's cover and give it a try.

The 1970s and 80s were golden days of fashion and Karl was smack dab in the middle of it all. A designer and an icon, his vulnerabilities are on full display in this insightful series.

I dig anything set in this time period. I also love watching fashion stories. This did not disappoint. The clothing alone! Watching Lagerfeld and his paramour Jacques dress in the most fabulous suits, with their perfect hair, jewelry and accessories was a treat indeed. I also adored the sketch scenes!

I do wish there was more - even a written epitaph before the credits would have sufficed. Of course, I did my due diligence and will be ordering the book for more details.

If you like fashion, haute couture, lifestyles of rich and famous, tragic love stories, fabulous interiors and locales, you will like this series.

I thought the acting was very fine- I didn't know any of the actors beforehand.

From the point of view of production values, Becoming Karl Lagerfeld cannot be faulted. Beautifully designed, costumed and filmed, it is worth your time for those alone. But ultimately it is a depressing tale of mismatched lovers - Lagerfeld, an ageing, sexually frigid German workaholic whose only pleasure is food, and a spoiled, promiscuous French party boy twenty years younger. Karl's attachment to Jacques seemed to be partly parental, and an idealisation of his youth and putative beauty. Jacques clearly had daddy issues and couldn't survive without the ongoing financial support. Yet each in his own way loved the other and was addicted to their dysfunctional relationship. And knowing of Jacques eventual death at 38 of AIDS made it all the sadder..