Becoming Karl Lagerfeld: The Fashion Designer’s Legacy Told Through Melodie Preel’s Photography

Mélodie Preel, director of photography from France. Photo © Courtesy of the artist

Launched last June on Disney+ and Hulu, the TV series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld is a journey into the professional and private life of Karl Lagerfeld (Hamburg, 1933 – Paris, 2019), based on the biography Kaiser Karl by Raphaëlle Bacqué.

Written by screenwriters Isaure Pisani-Ferry and Jennifer Have, together with the author of the book, the story begins in the summer of 1972 when the designer, played by the German actor with Spanish citizenship Daniel Brühl, becomes the successor to Coco Chanel; is no shortage of rivalries with Pierre Bergé, who was Yves Saint Laurent’s partner, and love affairs with Jacques de Bascher.

The director of photography for this ambitious project is Mélodie Preel, one of the most talented and influential figures in cinematographic photography. With a career spanning numerous projects, we have the interviewee exclusively to learn more about her career and the world of Lagerfeld, to discover the secrets, the behind-the-scenes of a production that celebrates one of the fascinating icons of contemporary fashion: a fashion visionary, capable of combining tradition and innovation, also known for his unique personal style, characterized by white hair gathered in a ponytail, dark sunglasses, fingerless gloves, and elegant black clothing.

So, let’s get started!

 

© Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, Disney+, Mélodie Preel

When did you start taking your first steps into the world of images?

I started in the world of images by learning photography when I was a teenager, I loved street photography when I was abroad, getting to know a new culture by observing those people and their environment from a distance through a lens. During those years I watched a lot of “Making of” and I was very curious to understand the mechanisms of filmmaking.

In your photographic and cinematographic production, it seems that you exclusively prefer the close-up of the subject: what are you looking for, what do you generally perceive in the subject in front of you at that moment?

As a photographer most of the time I was shooting long lenses from a distance so I wouldn’t be caught, I liked to steal a moment. As a cinematographer, I got closer to the subject obviously, and with Becoming Karl Lagerfeld the goal was to be as close as we could to understand and feel his inner thoughts, as Karl was a very reserved person.

How did the collaboration for such an ambitious project like “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld”, which presents the story of one of the most important figures who have marked international fashion, come about?

I met Jerome Salle, the director when I was an AC, and then I became a cinematographer. He continued to follow my work and called me about this project which was a tremendous chance for me. I leaped even though I was terrified, and it was a fulfilling experience as a cinematographer to be confronted with this high-end project that speaks about one of the greatest figures of the mode.

Our major question with the cinematography was how to shoot Karl to feel what he was going through. We chose a wide format and wide lenses to be as close as we could to feeling any breath, any subtle introvert reactions, and a very small depth of field to allow us to have the feeling of being with him only.

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