Disney+ series brings the story of Karl Lagerfeld to life
In 1972, Karl Lagerfeld (played by Daniel Brühl) is 38, and not yet wearing his iconic hairstyle. He is a readyto-wear designer, unknown to the general public.
While he meets and falls in love with the sultry Jacques de Bascher, an ambitious and troubling young dandy, the most mysterious of fashion designers dares to take on his friend – and rival – Yves Saint Laurent, a genius of haute couture backed by the redoubtable businessman Pierre Bergé.
Disney+ announced at the Canneseries Festival press conference in France, the highly anticipated six-episode original drama series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld will premiere in June on the streaming platform.
Produced by Gaumont and Jour Premier, the series plunges us into the heart of the 70s, in Paris, Monaco and Rome, to follow the formidable blossoming of this complex and iconic personality of Parisian couture, already driven by the ambition to become the “Emperor of Fashion”.
Between glamour and clashes of egos, grandiose parties and destructive passions, discover the story of Karl before Lagerfeld. A story told for the first time on screen and adapted from the bestseller Kaiser Karl by Raphaëlle Bacqué that brings together a star-studded cast.
Brühl (who starred in Nothing New in the West, Captain America: Civil War, Rush, Inglourious Basterds, Good Bye, Lenin!) as the couturier, parade
Théodore Pellerin (Continental Draft (South), Solo, Franklin, Beau is Afraid) as Jacques de Bascher and most talented new actor at Festival Lumière 2018 Arnaud Valois (most talented new actor at Festival Lumière 2018; 120 BPM, Good Grief, The Girl on the Train, My Best Part, Spring Blossom) as Yves Saint Laurent.
Alex Lutz (Vortex, Guy, Romantique, Baron noir, Strangers by Night)
plays Pierre Bergé. Agnès Jaoui (À
l’Ombre des filles, En Thérapie, The Sweet Escape, The Taste of Others)
plays Gabrielle Aghion, the founder of the Chloé fashion house who made a major contribution to his fame.
The series also highlights the fashion and cultural personalities who rubbed shoulders with Lagerfeld at the time. Jeanne Damas, fashion designer and actress in La Sincérité and Rock ‘n Roll, lends her features to Paloma Picasso, and singer-songwriter and model Claire Laffut to those of Loulou de La Falaise.
Legendary actress Marlene Dietrich is played by Sunnyi Melles, seen in the 2022 Palme d’Or winner
Triangle of Sadness. Andy Warhol is played by Paul Spera (On the Line, On the Basis of Sex, Marie-Antoinette).
Rounding out the cast is German actress Lisa Kreuzer (whose eclectic career includes films by Wim Wenders, Patrice Chéreau, Amos Gitaï and the Dark series) as Karl’s mother, Elisabeth Lagerfeld.
Music for the series has been entrusted to Evgueni and Sacha Galperine (Oussekine, By the Grace of God, The Undoing, Baron noir, The Night Doctor, Happening).
Becoming Karl Lagerfeld is born under the impulse of Christophe Riandee, vice CEO of production company led by Sidonie Dumas.
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