Becoming Karl Lagerfeld Early Review

The following is a spoiler-free review of all 6 episodes of Becoming Karl Lagerfeld. All episodes premiere June 7th on Disney+ internationally, Disney+ and Star+ in Latin America, and Hulu in the US

Be it film or television, the current norm for biopics is to tell stories that focus on a particular moment in their subjects’ lives to make them easier to follow. A formula that has proved to be successful for the most part, there is often a lot of material left unmined and while focusing so much on getting from point A to point B of some arbitrary narrative designed for the sake of the film or series in question, much of the nuance could also be lost along the way. Of course, those with at least a familiarity with said subjects may make it easy to overlook that lack of nuance but it is within those moments that could make or break a biopic. Meanwhile, fans of fashion have no doubt heard of German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, one of the world’s most prominent designers, he helped revitalize Chanel into what it is today. The next target for the biopic treatment, Becoming Karl Lagerfeld is a French limited series that is centered around the titular designer. Great performances from Daniel Brühl and Théodore Pellerin aside, it ultimately suffers from being rushed and too superficial to ever become engaged nearly as much as the series wants viewers to.

As mentioned, Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, is a predominantly French language series that follows a mid-30s Lagerfeld (Bruhl) and his rise up the ranks in the 1970s Paris fashion scene. A notoriously private man, many speculated about his personal life but he liked to keep that side of him close to his chest as he spent much of his early years outside of the public eye, preferring to work anonymously for many of the top fashion houses of the time. A casualty of a feud with the very powerful Pierre Berge (Alex Lutz), he was left on the sidelines of the French haute couture industry as Karl watched Berge form a burgeoning empire named for and designed by his old friend, and fellow fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent (Arnaud Valois). Sharing a complicated relationship, he couldn’t help but want some of that success for himself, if only to show up Berge, a powerful name in the French fashion scene. To do so, Karl would have to essentially come out of the shadows and begin to take control of his own career by being part of his own thing. From there, the wheels of ambition started turning. However, complicating things for Karl was Jacques de Bascher (Pellerin), an aspiring writer with a fondness of him and his so-called genius. Never going into their relationship with any sense of depth, it was clear that there was a connection there.

Jumping years between episodes, they continued to track Karl’s rise, using his special set of skills and leveraging his own success and marketability to rise up the ranks of French fashion house Chloé, run by Gaby Aghion (Agnès Jaoui), a woman who picked him back up and gave him a home following his falling out with Berge. In the meantime, Jacques was still lingering as he and Karl found themselves at an impasse as both appeared to have wanted different things out of their relationship. Perhaps seeing him as a muse, Karl kept him around and supported Jacques financially. A perfect balance of ambition and confidence, bordering on arrogance, Karl put his career first and that meant getting his designs out there by taking a more proactive role with Chloé. Not letting anyone or anything get in his way, his journey saw a roadblock as Jacques got involved with Yves, pulling him into the fire of Berge who was his biggest hurdle. Whether they wanted to deal with one another or not, they were the adults in the room. However, with Karl, there was more going on within his psyche. 

Doing next to nothing to explore Karl with any kind of depth over a single time period, rushing through time jumps, and having him split time with Jacques and his impulsive romance with Yves, the story became needlessly messy. A roller coaster romance that saw each bring out the worst in the other, that ride was going to end one way or another, leaving the others to pick up the pieces. Once the series remembered what it was about, it slightly improved but keeping it from achieving its true potential was the anchor attached to the story that Jacques represented. Jacques’ temperamental and impulsive behavior continued to be an issue; Karl continued to support him financially to the point that he merely became his enabler. However, the fondness he once had for Karl had since faded away and their relationship became something else though the series’ superficial approach and overall lack of character development made it difficult to nail anything down in a satisfying way. In the end, leaving viewers very little to hang onto in terms of story and characters, Becoming Karl Lagerfeld fails to stick the landing, if it could be considered one.

Despite there not being that much in the way of story to be had, the best part of Becoming Karl Lagerfeld was Brühl and Pellerin’s decent performances as Karl and Jacques. Their chemistry made their relationship more than what was on the page. Both actors have more than proven that they are capable so it’s just a shame that they were handcuffed by the material and direction. If given the chance, the series would certainly have fared better as its beautiful locales are wasted. Brühl has the charm, charisma, and range to portray such a complicated character with an abrasive personality, for better or worse. Meanwhile, Pellerin, and his youthful, impulsive energy made for a nice counterbalance to Brühl’s Lagerfeld.

Ultimately, Becoming Karl Lagerfeld is a painfully superficial docuseries that leaves viewers very little to hold onto and wastes the talents of its stars.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.