Becoming Karl Lagerfeld – Limited Series [2024] on Hulu / Disney Plus

Becoming Karl Lagerfeld is a compelling portrait of self-invention. A push and pull between the external stoic, confident, and forceful Karl Lagerfeld and the privately vulnerable, tender, insecure man that was.

Starring Daniel Brühl, Théodore Pellerin, and Arnaud Valois, the show charts, albeit in an inconsistent and weird way, the rise of Lagerfeld from a low-level stylist, to becoming the creative director behind Chanel.

While his fashion talents are not the center of the show, and they’re not in question, the show focuses way more on his personal struggles. From prejudice due to his German heritage and ready-to-wear fashions, to his personal preferences and conflict falling for Pellerin’s Jacques.

Thing is, I started watching the show expecting a mini biography similar to the recent ones (Dior in The New Look, Disney’s Balenciaga). Sadly, that’s not what we get here.

Instead of connected events that chart the personal development and career progression, we get random drop-ins that don’t feel connected at all. While Brühl delivers an extra-ordinary performance, the whole show felt like an underwhelming and disjointed story.

From Lagerfeld’s relationship with Yves Saint-Laurent, to why his mother lives with him, to why he’s so afraid to actually have something with Jacques and keeps hurting him instead. We know what’s going on, but the fact that we don’t know his actual motivations and needs by the end of the show makes it all feel very shallow.

Should You Watch It?

If you want to watch several hours of two designers flinging marble busts and demanding “quails’ eggs”, amid wild disco costumes, then this is a scream.

Where Can I Watch It?

You can stream Becoming Karl Lagerfeld on Disney+ everywhere.