Karl Lagerfeld, the iconic glove-wearing fashion designer and former artistic director of Chanel who died in February 2019, will be the subject of a biopic starring and produced by Jared Leto.
The Oscar winner will portray Lagerfeld and co-produced the film with Emma Ludbrook through their production firm, dox.
“I feel like this is a full-circle moment, and Karl would be happy with what we’re doing,” Leto told Women’s Wear Daily, the sister newspaper of The Hollywood Reporter that broke the story first. “Karl was a painter. Period. He was a fashion designer, a photographer, and an artist all rolled into one. He couldn’t be defined. He was a powerful force in creativity.”
There are few details about the movie, which is still in the planning stages and doesn’t yet have a director. The Karl Lagerfeld design brand, however, has backed it and informed WWD that it will chronicle “important connections in Karl Lagerfeld’s life, recounted through an unexpected lens, much like the man himself.”
There are other further links to look into, Leto added. Karl was connected to many individuals both personally and professionally due to his extensive career, which lasted more than 50 years. I can tell that we’ll focus on significant connections that illustrate various facets of his life.
Three of Lagerfeld’s close confidants are said to have joined the actor’s team: bodyguard and personal assistant Sébastien Jondeau, senior vice president of image and communications Caroline Lebar, and chief executive officer of his fashion firm Pier Paolo Righi. They will all work as executive producers.
Leto went on to say about Lagerfeld, “I must depict him on screen as honestly as I can. “The majority of people are unable to see above the surface when it comes to superstars. They only observe one or two aspects of a person as they are seen by the general public. Karl was a real person. Each of us possesses both beauty and flaws. There are times when we disclose our masks, and then we have masks. I’m constantly curious about what lies underneath the façade.