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UPDATE
Eccentric Chanel boss Karl Lagerfield has been forced to eat his own words just days after he slammed Meryl Streep for backing out of wearing one of his custom designs to today’s Oscars – which was adamantly denied by Meryl’s stylist. He’s now issued an apology and said the whole thing was a simply a “misunderstanding”.
“Chanel engaged in conversations with Ms Streep’s stylist, on her request, to design a dress for her to wear to the Academy Awards. After an informal conversation, I misunderstood that Ms Streep may have chosen another designer due to remuneration, which Ms Streep’s team has confirmed is not the case. I regret this controversy and wish Ms Streep well with her 20th Academy Award nomination,” he said in a statement.
However, outspoken Meryl isn’t have a bar of his backpedaling and issued her own statement to People to explain exactly what went down during #DressGate.
“In reference to Mr. Lagerfeld’s ‘statement’, there is no ‘controversy’: Karl Lagerfeld, a prominent designer, defamed me, my stylist and the illustrious designer whose dress I chose to wear, in an important industry publication. That publication printed this defamation, unchecked. Subsequently, the story was picked up globally, and continues, globally, to overwhelm my appearance at the Oscars, on the occasion of my record-breaking 20th nomination, and to eclipse this honor in the eyes of the media, my colleagues and the audience. I do not take this lightly, and Mr. Lagerfeld’s generic ‘statement’ of regret for this ‘controversy’ was not an apology. He lied, they printed the lie, and I am still waiting.”
Ouch. Who knew fashion could be so fierce? Well we’re looking forward to seeing what Meryl does rock up in today. Bets are there won’t be a skerrick of Chanel to be seen.
ORIGINAL POST
There’s a reason why Oscars viewing parties begin well before the airing of the event’s opening monologue… the diamonds, the feathers, the silks, the sequins… the GOWNS.
But this time around, in a very bizarre turn of events, we can confirm that Meryl Streep will NOT be wearing Chanel as she attends the 89th Academy Awards on Sunday.
In fact, head designer Karl Lagerfeld confirmed the news himself.
Speaking with Women’s Wear Daily Lagerfeld explained that work had already begun on Streep’s Oscars’ gown when her team pulled the plug.
The dress, an embroidered gray silk gown from Chanel’s most recent couture collection, was ordered and even featured an adjustment to the design – a higher neckline – at Meryl’s request.
“I made a sketch, and we started to make the dress,” Lagerfeld told WWD. He adds that shortly after production had started on the gown, a member from Streep’s camp reportedly cancelled in favour of a label that offered a payout.
“‘Don’t continue the dress. We found somebody who will pay us,’” Lagerfeld said, quoting the messenger.
Lagerfeld, who is also the brand’s creative director, said that Chanel has a policy of not paying celebrities to wear its garments, even those of the “greatest living” ilk.
Lagerfeld is known for his creative genius as much as his outspoken nature.
“After we gift her a dress that’s 100,000 euros [over $AUD137,000], we found later we had to pay [for her to wear it]. We give them dresses, we make the dresses, but we don’t pay,” Lagerfeld said.
In typical Lagerfeld style, he added, “A genius actress, but cheapness also, no?”
A rep for Meryl, 67, has since denied Lagerfeld’s claim in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, saying that the designer’s accusation is absolutely false. They added that it is “against her personal ethics” to be paid to wear a gown to any red carpet event.
The reigning Queen of Hollywood, Meryl.
Meryl, who’s picked up yet another Oscar nod this year for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film Florence Foster Jenkins, made headlines earlier in the month as she spoke at a Manhattan gala for the Human Rights Campaign, a non-profit for LGBT equality.
Similar to her highly-publicised Golden Globes acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award in January, the actress used the momentous occasion to slam President Donald Trump, without even using his name.
But there was no doubt who she was talking about…
“If we live through this precarious moment, if his catastrophic instinct to retaliate doesn’t lead us to nuclear winter, we will have much to thank our current leader for,” she said.
“He will have woken us up to how fragile freedom is. The whip of the executive, through a Twitter feed, can lash and intimidate, punish and humiliate, delegitimise the press and imagined enemies with spasmodic regularity and easily provoked predictability.”
WATCH: Meryl Streep attacks Trump in rousing acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Post continues…
The Mama Mia! actress also used the occasion to address the tweets in which President Donald Trump famously dubbed her “overrated.”
“Yes, I am the most overrated, overdecorated and, currently, I am the most over-berated actress … of my generation.
“It’s terrifying to put the target on your forehead. And it sets you up for all sorts of attacks and armies of brownshirts and bots and worse, and the only way you can do it is if you feel you have to. You have to! You don’t have an option. You have to.”
Meryl, we can’t wait to see what you bring to this year’s Academy Awards!
