Karl Lagerfeld

Are you wearing the Chanel boots? Yes, we are. A white-haired, powdered, starch-cuffed petty dictator who ruled over the expanding business with an iron fist, stopping every once in a while to make a misogynist or racist public comment, Karl Lagerfeld was one of the most influential figures in the fashion industry as it shifted into late capitalist hyperdrive. Come for the racist and misogynist public comments, stay for Lagerfeld's great love, Jacques de Bascher, who may more perfectly epitomize Evil Twink Energy than anyone we've discussed on our show. Click here to subscribe to our monthly podcast "Extra Bad Gays" and support the work we do to make the show. Click here to buy our book, BAD GAYS: A HOMOSEXUAL HISTORY. ----more---- SOURCES: Christian Allaire, “The Incredible Dandy Style of Jacques de Bascher, Karl Lagerfeld’s Longtime Partner | Vogue,” Vogue, April 27, 2023, https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/jacques-de-bascher-dandy-style-karl-lagerfeld-partner Irina Baconsky, “Jacques de Bascher: An Exhibition,” 032c, March 11, 2020, https://032c.com/magazine/jacques-de-bascher-an-exhibition Holly Brubach, “School of Chanel,” The New Yorker, February 19, 1989, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1989/02/27/school-of-chanel John Colapinto, “Karl Lagerfeld’s Fashion Empire,” The New Yorker, March 12, 2007, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/03/19/in-the-now Brock Colyar, “The Man in an 18-Year Relationship With Karl Lagerfeld,” The Cut, February 20, 2019, https://www.thecut.com/2019/02/who-was-jacques-de-bascher.html Daniel Harris, “The Electronic Funeral: Mourning Versace,” The Antioch Review 56, no. 2 (1998): 154–63, https://doi.org/10.2307/4613651 Beatrice Hazlehurst, “Karl Lagerfeld Depicts Hitler in Political Cartoon to Criticize Angela Merkel - PAPER Magazine,” October 12, 2017, https://www.papermag.com/karl-lagerfeld-depicts-hitler-in-political-cartoon-to-criticize-angela-merkel Michael Hobbes and Aubrey Gordon, “Diet Book Deep Dive: The Karl Lagerfeld Diet,” Maintenance Phase, accessed February 14, 2024, https://maintenancephase.buzzsprout.com/1411126/9898517 Anisha Mansuri, “The Met Gala: Ignoring Lagerfeld’s Islamophobia and Misogyny,” The New Arab (The New Arab, October 18, 2022), https://www.newarab.com/opinion/met-gala-ignoring-lagerfelds-islamophobia-and-misogyny William Middleton, Paradise Now: The Extraordinary Life of Karl Lagerfeld (New York, NY: Harper, 2023) Melissa Minton, “Karl Lagerfeld’s Most Controversial Quotes over the Years,” The New York Post, April 28, 2023, sec. Page Six, https://pagesix.com/article/karl-lagerfeld-most-controversial-quotes/ David Rakoff, Don’t Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never- Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems, Reprint Edition (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2006). “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed February 12, 2024, https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/a-line-of-beauty “King Karl,” Kids of Dada, accessed February 12, 2024, https://www.kidsofdada.com/blogs/magazine/11625457-king-karl Our intro and outro music are, respectively, Arpeggia Colorix, by Yann Terrien, and a tune written for us by DJ Michael Oswell Graphic Designer.  

Om Podcasten

A podcast about evil and complicated queers in history. Why do we remember our heroes better than our villains? What can we learn by focusing on the dark side of queer history?