White Is The New White: Designer Karl Lagerfeld Think No One Wants Curvy Women
12 October 2009, 9:39 AM. By Alex Alvarez
Designer Karl Lagerfeld is ridiculous. We’re sure this isn’t news to him as he’s totally and completely in on the joke and has made an effort to cultivate a certain image for himself that is almost delightful in its offensiveness, not unlike Edina Moon or Cruella De Vil or Lucille Bluth.
So when Lagerfeld said, in response to German magazine Brigitte announcing they would no longer use professional models in their shoots and instead use “real women” (whatever that means):
Fat mummies sit there in front of the television with their chip packets and say skinny models are ugly.
…we found it hard to get worked up about it. It’s his schtick, hatin’ on the fatties and whatnot. It’s expected and maybe a little tired at this point since it is so calculated and predictable. To be truly avant-garde in fashion at this point would be to prominently feature bigger women in high-fashion editorial shoots or ads, such as Crystal Renn’s recent shoot for Harper’s Bazaar Australia. Not only did this shoot feature a bigger model, it also emphasized her rolls and curves by placing her in tight, restrictive high-fashion garments:
As we’ve mentioned before, the fashion world is ruled by a white standard of beauty, a standard which is mostly unattainable for everyone - Caucasian women included - so we can understand when certain groups of women, if not all women, feel personally hurt or slighted or diminished by Lagerfeld’s performance.
Bodies are more than the personal vessels we use to carry our ideas to and fro, they are also political and cultural. So when Lagerfeld makes such comments about women’s bodies, they aren’t only misogynist, sizeist and classist, they can also be construed as racist or xenophobic, especially when it comes to women who are naturally heavier or who come from cultures where curvier bodies are considered the ideal (which, don’t get us wrong, is also unhealthy if your body can’t be curvy).
Take, for example, fellow Miami Cuban Ashley Falcon’s story:
I’m the most stylish among my friends. Growing up in Miami’s tight-knit Cuban community, I was the girl everyone sought out for fashion advice, the one who transformed boring outfits into head-turning looks with the flick of a collar or the cinch of a belt. Of course, it surprised no one that I decided to pursue a career as a fashion stylist—though at 5′2″ and 220 pounds, I’d need an elaborate pulley system and a can of Crisco to shimmy into the clothes I dress models in. Instead, I’m relegated to the plus-size racks, where trendy usually translates into “when’s your due date” empire waists and cinch-sack drawstrings. It’s not easy being chic, but it’s an epic struggle when you’re a big girl.
How do you feel about Krazy Karl’s comments? Are they merely the result of a silly attempt to play a caricature of a fashion designer? Are they damaging?
Designer Karl Lagerfeld says no one wants to look at fat models [Thaindian News]
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I have never been a fan of the whole race/class/ethnicity clusterfuck involved in the oft-repeated assumption that Blacks and Latinos not only prefer “fuller” bodies in women but actually tend toward having bigger bodies themselves by some sort of generic draw. That whole White/Rich/Thin v. Brown/Black/Poor/Fat false dichotomy is so unnerving. Not all White people are thin, not all Blacks and “Hispanics” are curvier. I’ve been Hispanic all my life, and even lived half of my life in an actual Latin American country, and in my own experience, which is by no means universal, a body full of chichos has never been attractive, and a having a svelte silhouette was never associated with a supposedly foreign “White [American? European?] standard of beauty.” The intersection of class, race, ethnicity and access to healthcare/good food choices that is involved in ideas of body image and body size is very complicated, and I’m not sure assuming that the reason why positing thin bodies as the ideal is necessarily working against people of color because they tend to be “naturally heavier” is any less problematic than Lagerfeld’s own words.
Anyway, Karl always says stuff like this. He’s been making all sorts of public pronouncements against the overweight and the obese after he lost all of that weight some years ago. Remember when he used to be fat? This has so much to do with his own personal history. He’s trying to distance himself from his former self, or something.
How’s the Vicodin?
Good points.
I stopped taking the Vicodin because it made me vomit fluorescent green.
Shut the fuck up and die racist bitch!
I meant Karl Lagerfield okay?
Haha! I’m glad you specified.
I agree with our guest linguist commentator up top, Herr Lagerfeld has some repressed, self loathing, gordo issues… and he’s racist bitch.
im about to throw my Karl Lagerfield sunglasses that i adore out the window!! Douche bag!
I find it funny how some posters on here call Karl a “racist” for stating the obvious.
Label anything you disagree with “racist”.
DAS RAYCIS ND SHEEYIT.
Ahahahaha. What a cheap cop-out.
What Karl said is somewhat true.
The obese do just sit there and indulge themselves in fattening cheap foods while criticizing females that take care of their bodies.
Maybe if they stopped complaining and started taking care of themselves…they would not be so fat and hurl childish insults and excuses all the time.
But instead of easily dropping their cheesecake and bacon, the obese prefer to just cry about people that tell them the obvious.
The obvious being: Stop eating lard and get off the couch instead of complaining and making up excuses.
Now the obese are trying to justify their gross habits by promoting “plus size” models like Queen Latifah and other ignorant women that think it is funny to promote such a dangerous lifestyle.
But of course, Hispanics that actually care about their race and want to promote a healthy lifestyle should just stay quiet because the obese, lazy, disgraceful. ignorant hispanics will come out of their kitchen and scream ‘DAS RAYCISSSS ND SHEEIT!!!’
rofl
You know I almost wasn’t going to reply to this but the fact that you wrote “DAS RAYCISSSS ND SHEEIT” twice compelled me to do it.
So what’s up with all the gordo hating?! Yeah I will agree that there is a large demographic of “large” people that hate on the “skinny” but its not like the “skinny” peeps aren’t guilty of alittle hating on their part. With the way you wail on the “plus seized” I have to conclude that you, like Karlitos, may have a repressed little fatty in you as well. I can almost be sure that your douchey attitude stems from the fact that although you lost the weight you didn’t lose the self loathing. And if the gordo hating didn’t give you away, your username sure did.
Now you made a referrence to “The obese just sit there… while criticizing females that take care of their bodies.” Come on buddy! Couture models, especially Chanel Models, don’t take care of their bodies. They are super underweight and unhealty.* takes a breath
Ok onto Herr Lagerfeld’s very true racism. Now before you start throwing around that “ignorant, fat, latino” shpiel at me maybe you should do alittle research. Just Google Lagerfeld & Racist and you’ll find many shinning examples of his “rassismus”.
And last… why are you hating on Queen Latifa and what dangerous lifestyle are you refering to? She’s not a 500 pound Jabba the Hutt stunt double who runs cocaine into the US out from Sinaloa! She’s a woman who works out on a regular basis who is just predisposed to have alittle more cushion. Its genetics my friend. Btw she was almost wedd to her personal trainer.
So I’ll end with taking alittle from your comment and say:
Next time don’t Label anything you disagree with as ignorant hispanic banter because then that would, in itself, be a “cheap cop-out.”
No, Mark.
You should ALWAYS comment with what you disagree with.
All Hispanics need to stand up and speak out.
I appreciate the fact that you called me out.
first: Yes, you hit a bullseye; I indeed used to be fat like Karl.
However, my mother was a true hispanic who was into fitness in her youth and to this day still workout and looks in shape for her age. It was I who pigged out on sweets and disgusting American food. Although during my younger years they thought i was “cute and chubby”, they also knew it was dangerous and tried to stop me from eating so much.
But they failed. They gave up because they feared rebellion.
You know, the typical “oh, if i anger him, he will turn against me and hate me. etc”.
That is the problem with parents today. They get walked all over by their kids.
I’m not a douche, Mark. I just happened to be tanned during the summer and my girlfriend called me a Bronze God, hence the arrogant nickname.
In real life i am not some douche that goes around making fun of people. Quite the contrary.
I never said models are healthy.
Anorexic idiots are the same as the obese.
Lazy, uneducated, and ignorant.
We both Queen Latifah and her type over eat.
You can have a personal trainer but it does not mean you are healthy.
Look at Oprah, she yo-yos weight even though she has a trainer. Why?
Because common sense would tell you she over eats. She herself admitted it.
I have nothing against fat people. It’s not like i want them gassed to death. I simply say “if they refuse to change for the better, let them eat themselves to death”. Not our fault, it is theirs.
I don’t even like Karl btw.
I just think he looks funny. LOL.
Also note that i am very sarcastic, i’m new here….but i need to start giving my opinions. Sometimes my opinions might be laced with dry sarcasm, and those comments might annoy or anger people that didn’t know i was being sarcastic.
In my first comment i was being sarcastic about the whole racist issue, obviously not all the time is racism used as an excuse…but sometimes it is and it sounds stupid besides being a cheap getaway from the things people don’t want to hear.
Than you for your comment, Mark.
Hey Bronze God, I’m really glad you’re here and that you’re commenting. I’d just like to take this opportunity to interject my opinion on the matter of whether or not anorexic and overeating folks are “lazy.” They’re not. They generally are plagued by a mental disease much like alcoholics. While ultimately it’s up to them to get help, it’s also not something they are just doing to be assholes.
Well Bronzed God, do you mind if I just call you BG?
I first want to appologize for my aggressive reply. And I probably should have picked up on the sarcasm… I mean this is Guanabee right? :)
I will admit you make some valid points. But I don’t think we will agree on the whole Queen Latifah thing. I mean she’s not that big. I think some one can be her size and still be healthy… but that’s just me.
And to show that there’s no hard feelings… THE_LATIN_MAN was an old username of mine. Now that’s douchey.
isn’t he chummy with Beth Ditto?
Sure, Mark. Call me BG for short.
And it’s fine if you disagree.
I came here not to bash, but to give a different opinion.
THE-LATIN-MAN?
LOL! That is some arrogance right there, man!
But hey…we are the best Race this world has ever seen.
We have a right to be arrogant!!! :p