Jared Leto is set to play renowned German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld in a new biopic. An iconic figurehead in the fashion world, Lagerfeld died in 2019, aged 85. Now, Morbius star Leto is slated to immortalize the late creative in a film about his life.
As expected at this stage, significant details on the biopic’s central focus have been kept under wraps. However, the film is reported to showcase the core relationships in Largerfeld’s colorful life, through a unique perspective, according to Deadline. Leto is expected to co-produce with his partner Emma Ludbrook, as part of their production company Paradox. The duo will co-produce alongside Lagerfeld’s House of Karl Lagerfeld. Critically, the designer’s colleagues Pier Paolo Righi, Sébastien Jondeau and Caroline Lebar, who all worked with the late icon for an extensive period of his life, will provide their invaluable insight as executive producers for the project.
Actor-come-musician Leto has teased the venture will push the boundaries on what a biopic is, an idea which appears to be a nod to Lagerfeld’s unapologetic audaciousness as a designer. “Karl has always been an inspiration to me,” he said. “He was a true polymath, an artist, an innovator, a leader and, most importantly, a kind man. When we came together with the Karl Lagerfeld team, we immediately shared a creative vision of doing a respectful ode to Karl while pushing the artistic boundaries of what a biopic can be.”
Karl Lagerfeld CEO Righi revealed that the fashion house has been approached by various producers over the years to bring the late creative genius’ life to the silver screen. However, it was Leto and Ludbrook that struck a chord with them inspiring confidence they could do his memory justice. “It has been only since we met Jared and Emma that we felt truly confident about the story being told in the artistic way Karl would have loved to see,” he explained. “Throughout our conversations, we have created an equally trustful and inspiring creative relationship that will allow us to work together very fluidly on this beautiful project.”
The team behind Lagerfeld’s on-screen epic will likely have a task ahead of them cherry-picking highlights from the designer’s incredible life. A pioneer of innovation, Lagerfeld carved a path for himself as someone who was unafraid to challenge the norms and it was that spark that saw him flourish at countless fashion houses. His portfolio is studded with designs for industry giants including, Valentino, Fendi and Chloé. But his career took full flight in 1983 when he produced his first collection for Chanel. A year later he launched the eponymous label which would go on to make him a household name around the world.
The Lagerfeld biopic does not yet have a release date.
via Collider