He was a titan of the fashion industry - and a man who cultivated a certain amount of legend around his image - so it was only a matter of time until someone made a movie about Karl Lagerfeld. Jared Leto will be taking on the mantle of 'Kaiser Karl', who he met several times in real life, and will also take on the role of producer (he and his partner, Emma Ludbrook's, production company, Paradox, closed the agreement with The House of Karl Lagerfeld).
Leto, of course, has form when it comes to fashion biopics. He recently played Paolo Gucci, the grandson of Guccio Gucci, in House of Gucci. He's also a famous friend of Alessandro Michele, the creative director of Gucci, and has attended the fashion world's equivalent of the Oscars - the Met Gala - on several occasions. The costume department has a clear brief. Lagerfeld maintained a very precise look for much of his working life - the powdered ponytail, the high collar, the black suit, the leather gloves, the dark glasses - and, from the early '00s, was rarely seen in anything else.
Several of the late designer's inner circle have executive producer billing, including Pier Paolo Righi, Caroline Lebar, and Sebastien Jondeau. 'Karl has always been an inspiration to me. He was a true polymath, an artist, an innovator, a leader and, most importantly, a kind man,' says Leto. They'll also have plenty to discuss next year because guess the theme of 2023's Met Gala? Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. While we wait for more details to emerge about the movie, we can't help but wonder: have they cast Choupette?