Designer Karl Lagerfeld is currently being sued by a French women's rights association after making derogatory comments about the possibility of curvy women appearing on the catwalk, the Agence France Presse (AFP) reports.
"No one wants to see curvy women on the catwalk", the designer is quoted as saying in his new book, "The World According to Karl", which contains some of his most famous one-liners. The 42-year-old Chanel designer now has a formal clegal omplaint filed against him at the prosecutor's office in the western city of Saintes by the association Belle, Ronde, Sexy et je M'assume ("Beautiful, Round, Sexy and OK with It") who accuse Lagerfeld of making "defamatory and discriminatory comments."
"We're fed up. Many young girls are insecure and hearing such comments is terrible for them", the head of the association, president Betty Aubriere, told AFP. "Today it's him who insults us and tomorrow who will it be?"
She pointed out that many young girls who are curvy are victims of bullying at school and end up leaving due to the cruelty of their classmates. Lagerfeld's comments may add to the misconception that people with curves are lazy or simply eat poorly, Aubriere explained, adding that schools need to bring awareness to the issues of body image so kids understand "that curves are often an illness or genetic, and not due to a poor diet."
Earlier this month, Lagerfeld repeated his offensive comment on television, adding that France's healthcare system was struggling in part because of "all the illnesses contracted by people who are too fat."
"It's the fat women sitting in front of televisions with their pack of crisps who say slim models are hideous", he is also quoted as saying in his new book. He's also known for calling British singer Adele "a little too fat" and allegedly telling a reporter, "No one wants to see curvy women."
