Quote · The Louis Theroux Podcast
S8 EP4: Cara Delevingne discusses getting sober, engagement rumours, and being Karl Lagerfeld's muse
Where this was said
The Modelling Craft, Karl Lagerfeld, and the Muse
At 15:10 · chapter starts 10:40
Louis, candidly confessing his non-expertise, presses Cara on what the actual skill of modelling consists of. She makes a sharp observation: knowing angles, lighting, and movement is a genuine skill, but it's a strange and narrow one. More damaging is the psychological toll — constant awareness of your own appearance creates a breeding ground for insecurity, and Cara says she has never encountered more insecure people than in that industry. Then comes Karl Lagerfeld, introduced via Louis's vivid physical description (candy floss ponytail, Harry Hill collar, fingerless gloves, dark glasses). Louis reads Lagerfeld's famous verdict: 'She's not a standout beauty' and the Charlie Chaplin analogy — a genius-like expressiveness better suited to silent movies than talkies. Cara agrees with the assessment and traces it to an era when fashion had become an army lineup of identically expressionless models; she brought slapstick and movement and was Marmite for it. [1] — Louis Theroux "She's a kind of genius, like a character out of a silent movie. I would see her better in a silent movie than a talkie because she over-acc…" 13:20
Karl Lagerfeld compared Cara to Charlie Chaplin, called her 'not a standout beauty', and dressed her as his Chanel muse. When he died and Jameela Jamil immediately called him a fatphobic misogynist, Cara — freshly landed in Milan — fired back on Twitter. She says the fashion industry may be inherently misogynistic, but the day after a death isn't the time.
