Why don’t people speak the truth about others when they die? It’s almost as if they are afraid that their spirits will come back to haunt them. Death seems to offer everyone a chance to receive their only standing ovation, a chance for their mistakes to be overlooked, to be loved and in some cases even made out to be a complete saint. I will never understand it.
Earlier last week when I heard of the death of Karl Lagerfeld, I was sure that this was the turn it was going to take. I was not wrong. It’s almost as if all the vile things he has said over the years were deleted by his death announcement. No one seems to remember that he said if he were Russian, he’d be a lesbian because the men are so ugly; that he called the singer Adele “a little fat,” then later took credit for her weight loss; that he claimed Kim Kardashian’s life-threatening robbery was her fault; and called actress Meryl Streep cheap. People also seem to have forgotten the fact that he said it was shocking that it had taken “all these starlettes” 20 years to remember being assaulted or harassed, during the height of the #metoo movement. Somehow, people have managed to conveniently separate the man from the designer.
Chanel is one of the most prestigious fashion houses. I would even go so far as to say that for most girls to own Chanel items means they have reached the pinnacle. The designs are a marvel primarily because they redefined the way women dress; removing the frills and making clothing relaxed. I don’t find Chanel particularly desirable for two main reasons: first, because of the fact that it has become so desirable and second, because I have never felt it offered anything incredibly new over the last decade.
When I say new, I am referring to the silhouettes because Chanel has been able to withstand the turbulence of the ever-changing fashion industry. Perhaps it is because it stuck to its core values: the little black jacket, the pristine tweed suits, while showing them off on the most Instagram-able runway shows. This is probably what has drawn more people to the brand and maintained its prestige over the years. When every other designer was going left or right, Chanel kept going straight.
In some ways, Karl Lagerfield’s naughty ability to insult and be controversial resemble the brand’s core values. As Coco Chanel said, in order for one to be irreplaceable one must be different. Some may argue that being different doesn’t necessarily mean that you are either good or bad it just means that you are not simply following the pack and that you are making a case for free speech.
Nevertheless, it will forever remain a mystery to me how people are able to eulogise a man and not have a balanced approach; why they would choose to ignore the significance of who that person really was.
