Lagerfeld Confidentiel

Everyone knows his trademark grey ponytail, fans and sunglasses. Karl Lagerfeld has long since succeeded in turning himself into an icon. His persona is just as dazzling as his fashion. But who is the real man behind the sunglasses?
Karl Lagerfeld has long refused to provide an answer to this question. Apart from recent interviews, Lagerfeld has never discussed his private life before this extensive cinematic portrait. Working in close collaboration with his protagonist, director Rodolphe Marconi succeeded in recording over 150 hours of film material. The resulting film provides cinema audiences with a closer, more intimate look at this famous creator of fashion that is more than just a record of his everyday life. In this portrait, we gain an insight into the man's personal history and his obsessions; we are presented with Karl Lagerfeld as a photographer and painter, as a great lover of the cinema, as a book collector and an art connoisseur. Certainly, this is a film about luxury, money and style. However, it is also about key moments in the life of the Hamburg-born fashion designer who grew up in Lübeck. Born to a wealthy family, the designer's encounter in early childhood with "Buddenbrooks" and "Nibelungen" was to have a lasting influence on him. In this film, Lagerfeld, who has lived in Paris since the 1950s, talks as openly about his 'wild years' as he does about the loss of his long-standing partner, who died of Aids in 1989. "I admire people who have the courage to destroy themselves," declares Lagerfeld. "They are the exact opposite of me."