Merci Karl: Fashion Press Muzzled

Have you heard about the new "tell all" book about Karl Lagerfeld written by his long time assistant Arnaud Maillard? No? Don't expect to unless you read French fluently, are a hardcore follower of the fashion business and read obscure French fashion blogs.

And why is that you ask? That would be because it pertains to Karl Lagerfeld and Karl Lagerfeld works for Chanel and LVMH (he designs the Fendi collection). Both Chanel and LVMH spend astronomical amounts of money in advertising each year in the French, American and British press and cultivate very cosy relationships with all the major fashion editors. Consequently, the French fashion press will not touch this book with a ten foot pole. The book's radioactivity extends to the British and American fashion press for the same reasons and it doesn't stop there. Even Paris Match (France's answer to People magazine) and Madame Figaro have omitted any coverage.

As you may know from previous posts on this blog, I'm contemptuous of our obsessive need to chronicle every sordid detail of the lives of celebrities including celebrity designers like Karl Lagerfeld. But, I'm also a staunch believer in press freedoms and in the right of an author to chronicle his own personal experiences. What has happened to Arnaud Maillard amounts to economic censorship - reviews, critiques, coverage of any type is crucial for the commercial success of any book. This is all the more true for a book likely to appeal mostly to hardcore fashion followers (a small niche), the very people who buy and read fashion publications. The boycotting of Merci Karl by the fashion press amounts to muzzling the author and that's not acceptable regardless of whether the book has merit or not.

I've decided to buy Merci Karl and read it cover to cover just out of principle (O.K., as you know I also find Karl Lagerfeld deliciously bitchy so I'll be reading it for entertainment as well). It's available from Amazon's French site, www.amazon.fr.

Merci Arnaud!