Must-See: The Tears of Karl Lagerfeld

This review is part of a series of Must-See shows, in which a writer delivers a snapshot of a current exhibition

Moving through Karl Lagerfeld’s 1980s apartment in Rocabella feels like a surrealist dream: furnished by the provocative design group Memphis, the space is populated by geometrically sharp, striking furniture in reds, blues and yellows. Whether through a bed transformed into a boxing ring (Masanori Umeda, Tawaraya Party Ring, 1981) or a bookshelf whose form mimics the unruly branches of a tree (Ettore Sottsass, Carlton Bookcase, 1981), the group’s visionary playfulness creates a home that escapes the clutches of the mundane, pushing against the boundaries of comfort in favour of extravagance.

For ‘KARL GOES TO MEMPHIS’, Almine Rech’s Monaco gallery has been transformed into a replica of the iconic fashion designer’s Monte Carlo residency. The bold style of Memphis’s furniture is accentuated by eight new works by Francesco Vezzoli. This selection of captivating mise-en-abyme inkjet portraits sees an older Karl in his iconic black glasses and ice-white ponytail, gazing at opulent reflections of his weeping younger self.

In KARL GOES TO MEMPHIS (THE PROPER ORNAMENTS) (all works 2025), silver-garland tears flow from a stylish young Karl’s eyes, with globular green beads hanging from the end of each strand of lachrymose metal. KARL GOES TO MEMPHIS (I WAS A SUNNY RAIN PHASE) takes the flamboyance further, as Karl’s tears – depicted as a chain of silver pear-shaped brooches – blossom into a flower. Despite the universal stoic facial expressions of Vezzoli’s monochrome subjects, the bejewelled colours of their tears offer an unexpected playfulness – which is echoed in the designs of Memphis, both signalling a welcomed crack in a carefully curated facade.

The show’s most transfixing work, KARL LAGERFELD (PERFIDIA), features a small silk embroidered portrait of a young Karl staring wistfully ahead. His raven hair bears a frosting of silver, his face an accumulation of grey and white hues resembling cracked porcelain. Red tears flow delicately down his face. Whilst it lacks the panache of other works on display, PERFIDIA presents a more insecure side of the designer as he shrinks away from our gaze, eyebrows furrowed, lips clenched tight.

A joyous ode to kitsch and 1980s avant-garde, the show offers a refreshingly nuanced perspective on a figure who has been repeatedly caricatured within the fashion world and beyond. Vezzoli skilfully side-steps Lagerfeld’s harsh, emotionless minimalism to unveil a more vulnerable and playful side to the iconic designer and his vision. 

Francesco Vezzoli’s ‘KARL GOES TO MEMPHIS’ is on view at Almine Rech, Monaco, until 24 May

^{Main image: Francesco Vezzoli, KARL GOES TO MEMPHIS (TOO MUCH LOVE) (detail), 2025, inkjet print on paper, acrylic paint, frame, 1.2 × 2 m. Courtesy: © Francesco Vezzoli and Almine Rech, Paris; photograph: Alice Turchini}