What an odd little man.

I have a confession to make... I don't like Karl Lagerfeld.

Shock, horror, fashion blasphemy! Yes all that I suppose, but it's true.

I think he's a genius. I think he's one of, if not the, greatest creative fashion mind(s) of the 20th century. His body of work is absolutely astounding. I think he's an extremely accomplished and well rounded individual outside of the fashion arena as well. I have the utmost respect for him... but I don't like him.

Then again, who is he? Really? So little is known about this man. Yes, we know a great deal about his work, but what do we know about him? Even his correct date of birth is uncertain. He says he was born in 1938, yet according to the local christening register in Hamburg he was born in 1933. Typo maybe? :) His name is actually Lagerfeldt. He had it changed to Lagerfeld as that "sounds more commercial."

And these are just the facts. What about personality? Who is he as a person? When I see a someone: the way they speak and move, I get a feel of their character even if it's just one aspect. With Karl I get nothing, nothing real anyway. It all just seems so contrived, studied even. He has a sort of built in "deflector array" that clears everything in his path. All energy flowing to him either bounces off or is neutralized, nothing is absorbed. I suppose the dark sun glasses that are seemingly welded to his face help a lot.

He is a self made man. That is, his public persona is of his own making, carefully created by him and presented to the world with an über confidence that says: "Take it or leave it, I don't really care. It's not even the real me, but it's all your going to get."

So when I say: "I don't like him." What I actually mean is; I don't like the persona he presents to us and I don't like his blatant lack of authenticity.

That said... does it matter? Not really. Considering our obsession with celebrity and celebrities in this day and age, maybe it's a good thing that he keeps who he really is to himself. He is first and foremost a fashion designer and what he creates is very real and very, very good. Who he is and what he does behind closed doors is beside the point and really none of our business.


P.S. Though I might not like Karl's fakeness, I do like Fake Karl. Well his blog anyway, it's always a good laugh.