Karl Lagerfeld Attacks 'Fat Mummies'

by Amy Hatch (Subscribe to Amy Hatch's posts) Oct 13th 2009 12:16PM

Categories: Behaving Badly, In The News, Mommy Wars, Fashion & Clothing

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Credit: Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld lashed out at "fat mummies" when a German women's magazine announced it would no longer be using stick-thin models in its fashion spreads. He even called Heidi Klum, who gave birth today, too heavy.

The designer, who according to The Guardian has a penchant for skinny models, said that the only people who object to slender women are overweight mothers.

"These are fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television, saying that thin models are ugly," Lagerfeld said in an interview with Focus magazine. The creative director of Chanel went on to add that readers crave fantasy, and that fashion was all about "dreams and illusions, and no one wants to see round women."

He made the remarks in response to Brigitte editor Andreas Lebert, who said he was tired of having to doctor photos of underweight models to make them look heavier. The magazine will begin using non-professional models with real-girl bodies as of Jan. 2, 2010, according to The Guardian. Lebert also put a call out to readers to audition.

Lagerfeld, 71, is well-known for his defense of super-thin women, and in the past has dismissed the idea that an unattainable standard of beauty depicted in fashion magazines encourages anorexia in women and girls who are not models.

According to The Guardian, he stirred the pot further by saying that "family problems" or "other traumas" caused models to be underweight, not pressure from the fashion industry.

Not even the beautiful people are safe from Lagerfeld's exacting standards. He made news in June, when he blasted supermodel, mom and "Project Runway" host Heidi Klum for being too fat. According to The Sun, he said she was "too heavy" to be a catwalk model.

Klum, 36, is married to Grammy-award winning musician Seal and gave birth to her fourth child, a girl named Lou Sulola Samuel, on Oct. 13.

On the opposite side of the argument, British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman called on designers to end the "size zero culture" of fashion.

Do you want to see real, round women in magazines, or do you prefer the slender fantasy?

Related: Teen Vogue Model Pregnant

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Comments (7)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ame s 10-13-2009 @ 1:20PM

Carl looks alarmingly like a different kind of mummy.
That said, "fat mummies" and normal, average sized mummies can make a statement by not buying his clothing.

CLM 10-13-2009 @ 3:09PM

Why do we care what he has to say? Why do we care whether he has a preference for extremely thin women? If he thinks Heidi Klum is too heavy, then he is clearly out of touch and should be provided an opportunity to discuss this further with a licensed psychologist. This skinny mummy has no use for him, his view, or his clothes.

rheanna 10-13-2009 @ 5:13PM

well, if he doesnt like "fat mummies" then i dont like "ugly, freaky looking fashion designers." I think that overweight people can be unappealing, but underweight models can also be as equally unappealing. What exactly IS perfect?? People come in different shapes and different sizes. Not everyone thinks that the same things are attractive, and that is what makes the world go round! But you see a lot more negative controversy (in general) over people that are overweight than you do people that are underweight. Society's definition of a "normal" size continues to get smaller and smaller, and what people once regarded as beautiful and curvy, i.e. Marilyn Monroe, is now considered to be "too heavy." This guy would have been better off if he had of kept his big fat mouth shut.

GFM 10-21-2009 @ 7:18PM

rheanna,
I was so thinking the exact same things as you. I'd rather be a "fat mummy" than look like this man any day. EEEWWW!!!! He's too early for Halloween, right? ;)

Jo 10-21-2009 @ 9:19PM

To answer the end of article question, "Do you want to see real, round women in magazines, or do you prefer the slender fantasy?" I'd much rather see real, round women in magazines because then I can see more realistically what an outfit might look like on me...a real, round woman and proud of it! Also, I'd like to see more REAL looking fashion designers, real as in - not dead, not goth, not hyper-gay, just real people who dress better so they don't distract attention away from their product.

Mary Sullivan 10-21-2009 @ 1:38AM

The guy is a well-known jerk. Just more proof here. Whatever.

Laura 10-22-2009 @ 1:20AM

He's probably right though, about readers generally preferring fantasy to realism in magazines--at least high fashion magazines. People figure if they want to see real women all they have to do is take public transit.

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