Streep snaps back at Karl
MERYL Streep’s camp is caterwauling over Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld’s claim that the legendary actress is “cheap.”
The Kaiser made an astonishing statement that Streep had commissioned a custom couture dress from the fashion house, then canceled it because a rival designer paid her to wear a different gown to the Oscars.
“I made a sketch, and we started to make the dress,” Lagerfeld told WWD. But days later, he got a call from Streep’s camp: “Don’t continue the dress. We found somebody who will pay us.” The fashion icon then mused, “After we gift her a dress that’s 100,000 euros [$105,000], we found later we had to pay [for her to wear it]. We give them dresses, we make the dresses, but we don’t pay.” Lagerfeld added, in an epic Streep slap-down, “A genius actress, but cheapness also, no?”
But a spokesperson for Streep — who’s nominated for Best Actress for “Florence Foster Jenkins” — said it was against the actress’ “ethics” to be paid to wear a gown. The rep said, “There’s no truth to this rumor whatsoever. That it is against her personal ethics to be paid to wear a gown on the red carpet . . . The conversations were handled completely appropriately and in a timely fashion, and there were no hard feelings on anybody’s part.”
A fashion insider tells us that the embroidered gray silk gown from Lagerfeld’s most recent cou- ture collection had been ordered by Streep, with a requested adjustment: a higher neckline.
“Meryl wanted it modified. Within 24 hours of receiving the new sketches, the stylist . . . said, ‘This is lovely, but we are going in another direction’ . . . With Karl, there was a misunderstanding.”
Chanel said in a statement, “Chanel engaged in conversations with Ms. Streep’s stylist to design a dress for her to wear to the Academy Awards, with the full understanding that she was considering options from other design houses. When informed by the stylist that Ms. Streep had chosen a dress by another designer, there was no mention of the reason. Chanel wishes to express our continued and deep respect for Ms. Streep.”