Time designers buttoned it?

After Karl Lagerfeld’s apology yesterday for calling singer Adele fat, Noelle McCarthy says he’s not the first style guru to put his foot in it

COCO Chanel once said “the most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud”. Except if you’re a fashion designer, she might have added.

It may have been brave of Irish designer Paul Costelloe for example, to say that, “Irish women wouldn’t know style if it tottered up to them in 10-inch heels”, but alienating your customer base isn’t usually part of a successful business plan.