Karl Lagerfeld Sucks
It's always good to keep track of who totally sucks, and today's addition to the list is Karl Lagerfeld, who is pissed off that his clothes were made to fit larger (size 14) people:
""What I really didn't like was that certain fashion sizes were made bigger. What I created was fashion for slim, slender people. That was the original idea... Incomprehensible decisions made by the management have removed any desire I had to do something like that again."
Ironically, Karl Lagerfeld used to be very overweight, lost weight, and has apparently just published a diet book. I guess the reward is fitting into his skinny-people-only clothes, right, Karl?
""What I really didn't like was that certain fashion sizes were made bigger. What I created was fashion for slim, slender people. That was the original idea... Incomprehensible decisions made by the management have removed any desire I had to do something like that again."
Ironically, Karl Lagerfeld used to be very overweight, lost weight, and has apparently just published a diet book. I guess the reward is fitting into his skinny-people-only clothes, right, Karl?
posted by mo pie at 9:55 AM
14 Comments:
Richard, I'm glad you're here and always providing such thoughtful comments. I have to say though, I think you are giving Lagerfeld too much credit. I agree there may be a legitimate reason for him to be upset, but I don't see him designing clothes for larger women, which he could easily do if he wanted to, because he's Karl Lagerfeld. Saying he would be happy to do it is possibly wishful thinking.
The reality is- once a designer jumps ship and lands in the real world, complete with larger sizes- he/she loses their designer creed with the blue bloods and such.
I have to say, it doesn't bother me one bit- why is it such a deal? He has the right to design for anyone and being a jerk with a big mouth is a hard earned freedom we all want until it affects us.
Does anyone really get worked up when a line doesn't offer petites?
I'm with Richard on this one.
And I'm speaking as someone who's been both sewing her own clothes AND watching carefully the likes of Karl Lagerfeld for, oh, thirty years or so. Remember when he started designing for Chloé? Frnakly, i never did think much of his creations, never understood what the fuss was all about. Still don't.
But, I do understand why he'd be so bent about H&M sizing up his clothes for sizes he hadn't thought about designing for. After all, these pieces of fabric have his name on them. And it's [I]only his name[/I] that's selling them! H&M is getting a HUGE amount of free press out of this. Which will have a very favorable impact on their bottom line. And one must consider that quality of contruction of items produced by/for H&M, or rather the [I]lack[/I] of quality. I doubt very seriously that when they upsized Karl's designs that they did a proper job of it. That would cost money and eat into their profits. I'd be very surprised to see that the larger sizes fit as well as the smaller sizez.
When I first started sewing for myself I was several sizes smaller than I am now. The styles and shapes and fabrics that looked great on me then really do not look so hot now. However, :D, there fabrics and shapes and styles that I simply couldn't carry off then that make me look REAL hot now!!!!! ;)
Trust me, kids, designing for a "voluptuous" body is an entirely different experience from designing for a "slender" body.
On whether the Karl Lagerfeld for H & M garments work at larger sizes: I bought a pair of black trousers from the range at size 14 and they fit brilliantly, and I think I look fine in them. However, this may not be the case with all the garments. A friend of mine looked longingly at one of the dresses, but then decided not even to try it on, as she thought it wouldn't hang right on anyone who wasn't flat-chested. She's the same size as I am, sometimes a size smaller, depending on the garment. However, I think that enough people were happy with the line at all sizes. Less than a month after the line was launched, virtually everything is gone from my local branch of H & M.
As with the Bridget Jones item, remember that UK size 14 is equivalent to US size 10. Possibly smaller in H & M, which is notorious around here for small sizing in comparison with other stores.
I'm afraid that while I take the point that Ms Labelle is making concerning the fact that some clothes look better on some bodies than on others, I think that Mr Lagerfeld's quote indicates something rather more pejorative.
However, the fashion world has different standards of normality. The fashion editor of the Guardian newspaper - who is a slim woman in her early 30s - recently wrote that every time she goes to the international fashion shows, she's on a diet by the second week, after being exposed to nothing but models and those who try to look like them.
And I do really like those trousers.
I am officially boycotting Karl Lagerfeld. (Is it a boycott if you couldn't afford his clothes anyway?)
I think where the world has gone out of whack is in expecting normal women to look like models. That didn't use to be the case - there have always been "ideal" shapes and sizes, but it was understood that most people don't match that ideal, until about the 1960s, when with the advent of bikinis and tiny clothing, women couldn't wear the fashions at all unless their bodies were the specific shape. You couldn't use undergarments or padding to mimic the "ideal" anymore.
Designers have always designed on thin women, solely for the reason that the thin body doesn't distract from viewing the clothes, on the runway and in photo shoots. Lagerfeld is no different from any other designer in building his clothes on toothpick-shaped women, but he's fecking nuts if he thinks his customers are supposed to fit that shape. We -if we were actually buying his stuff- WE are paying him for clothes; if he can't handle that economic fact he might want to consider another career where he doesn't have to deal with either human beings or their money.
Richard, did you get that Lagerfeld is not complaining about having his clothes scaled up to plus sizes? A 14 in UK is the equivalent of a 10 in the US. I don't understand why he agreed to design for a regular misses' line and then makes a big stink about it going up that high. Some designer clothes do top out at a smaller size and some, regardless of what size they say they are, are just teeny-tiny. But if he didn't know what kind of line he was designing for, he's an idiot.
In response to the question "Does anyone ever get this worked up about petites?"
The answer is "yes." I do. While the clothing in the petites section was height-proportional, when I was heavier I could never fit my fat ass into them. And plus-sized clothing operates under the delusion that all fat women are tall.
For the record, Karl Lagerfeld is welcome to suck it.
That is all. : )
Considering being overweight is a health epidemic, and yes, if you're a size 14, you're overweight, unless you're 6 ft tall. I don't see why we arn't all trying to drop a few pounds for the good of our own health. That doesn't mean you need to be a size 2. Taking great personal offense to Mr Lagerfelds comments is simply you blowing the comment out of proportion.
From a design perspective, I agree with all the statements about clothing fitting differently on different sized people. If he designed for thin women, then he DESIGNED FOR THIN WOMEN. Karl Lagerfeld is a man who normally designs CHANEL Couture, the fact that he allowed anything with his name on it to be sold for H&M prices is amazing in itself.
If it were my designs being screwed around with, designs that were not ment for a curvy woman, then he has every right to be angry.
I agree above, Perhaps Karl, once being over weight himself feels that people that are themselves overweight haven't the need for his clothes. I have been in the fashion industry for a number a years and am AMAZED to see the huge gap that has grown in sizing. Americans although seemingly obsessed with the unhealthy skinny model are outrageously fat. A size 14 woman is overweight, yet a size 0 six foot tall woman is unhealthy also. I am a size 4 and not because I starve myself or am blessed with a freakish metabolism, I take care of myself. Everyday I hear complaints from overweight woman that "nothing cute fits me" I am convinced that there is a fat mentality developed to protect the self confidence of an overweight person. It is amazing that he designed for H & M, and what a shame that the clothes were not made in greater quantity. I would have loved to affordably own a Karl Lagerfeld. Basically, get over it. Karl wanted to design for a healthy woman, and with moderation any woman can be healthy.
I can say that the pressure is definitely "on". Never in my life have I felt the need to trim down then I have over the last 2 years.
Its hard to get into anything that is super chic over a size 10.
I have dropped 40 pounds over the past 6 months, so I could start wearing the super trendy clothing that I see in stores like H&M, Zara, Bebe, Arben B., Donna Karan, etc. Before I couldn't even get my arm in one of their shirts in the largest size they carried.
Many of retailers and designers (and obviously we are not talking high fashion aka Karl Lagerfeld) don't go past size 14, and ya better believe it is not a "Misses" size 14 either. It seems like they cut the clothing "somewhere" between the Juniors and Misses category.
Its like as you're shopping and having to move from store-to-store because you're larger than say a size 14 and you just keep coming up empty because you can't find anything that fits you, can't find the styles you want or what you do find is ill-fitting --- this brings on this overwhelming pressure to lose weight so you can really, really buy the clothing you love thats located on the "smaller" end of the rack.
Personally, I got so frustrated shopping I gave in to the pressure and started losing weight just for that reason. The high fashion world really "slights" women who wear over a size 16, thats what really sucks! Cause Mr. Lagerfeld is one among many!
I would Like to say, that I am a size 14 US. I was really relieved when I walked into an H&M and found clothes that fit me and were cute, age appropriate, and flattering. I wanted to say thank you to H&M for doing this, because I was getting really sad about the fact that I couldn;t wear clothes from very many "normal" stores (i.e. express, limited, wet seal, arden B., etc.)
Ya know, people just want to be considered "Normal". I think it is strange that Karl is so obsessed with himself and his name and his brand. Who cares if they made some clothes to fit a whole size 10? If they don;t look flattering on those girls, then that isn't his problem, it's theirs. I think it should be someone's choice to or not to wear something. Designers shouldn't be making that choice for people. Why doesn;t H&M just put up a sign that says "fat people shop on this side of the store, and Skinny people shop on this side of the store". Yeah- I am sure that won;t alienate a few people over a size 10/12.
You know what really burns me up though, is that clothing chains and designers all come down to one thing, and that is money- the bottom line baby. And you know what? I have alot of good, hard-earned money to spend on nicely designed clothing that is flattering and trendy. If Karl doesn;t want my money, or any of the other millions of overweight women's money- then he can just say that. He is the one who will suffer from his ignorance. H&M needs to realize that fat people have money to spend, too, and they wil spend it if there is an appropriate product available for them to buy.
Actually, there is recent research to suggest that slightly overweight people live longer than thing people. When you're talking obese, then it's a health risk. In fact, I am a size 14 and I have a blood pressure of 120 over 70: this is the blood pressure of an athlete. I work out every other day and I eat very healthily, I just have a genetic predisposition to being the size I am.
So everyone here who says it's unhealthy has got it all wrong. It depends on the individual. And even if it was the case that being a size 14 is somehow unhealthy, I don't understand why the fact that you're unhealthy should mean you can't buy clothes that both fit and look good.
Nevermind H&M, but when I buy a garment that costs as much as Lagerfeld's designs do, I expect it to be tailored to fit me.
okay so he shouldn't have over reacted
but he is totally right
he designed his clothes for skinny people and thats who they are going to suit
im not saying that larger people shouldn't wear his clothes, by all means they should be able to wear what they like
but Lagerfeld is an icon. He has been in the industry for years and he knows that his clothes will always look best on skinny people because he designs them for skinny people; its not fashionable to be 'fat', and fashion is his buisness
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