What’s fashion’s biggest event of the year without a little drama?
For the 2023 iteration of the Met Gala, the usually celebratory and fashion-forward revelries have been shrouded in controversy, and now the occasion has just become more decisive with an anonymous source coming forward to claim that this American juggernaut family won’t be making the cut this year.
But let’s go back to where it all began.
Despite TikTok hoping for the theme to be “space“, New York’s prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced that this year’s theme will pay tribute to one of the most prolific designers of the last century: Karl Lagerfeld.
“Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” will be the exhibition opening in May at The Met, with the celebrity style set invited to sartorially reference and draw inspiration from the late-designer’s work at some of the most prestigious luxury houses.
Of course, the choice of this theme has certainly ruffled some feathers, with many social media users taking to their respective platforms to complain about the choice considering Karl’s history.
What Does The Theme Of The 2023 Met Gala “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” Mean?
The designer, who tragically passed away in 2019 following complications from an ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer, had an illustrious career that spanned decades and maisons.
From Chanel, Chloé, Fendi and Balmain to his own eponymous fashion label and beyond, his contribution to the fashion industry is insurmountable.
Of course, if we were to rattle off a few, the creation of Chanel’s signature interlocking ‘CC’ monogram and the double F motif for Fendi would certainly be up there.
While Lagerfeld co-hosted the 2005 Met Gala under the theme ‘Chanel’, it was only a matter of time before the late designer was honoured with his own exhibition.
How Does The Dress Code ‘In honour of Karl’ differ from the 2023 Met Gala Theme “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”?
The perception of Met Gala has suffered enormously in the public domain in recent years with guests either sartorially referencing the exhibition theme a little too closely, or not at all. According to an anonymous source via DeuxMoi, the Met team where less-than-thrilled with the display at last year’s ball, with the source citing that designers will need to have their looks ‘pre-approved’ for the first time since 1983.
While we’re unsure how accurate this claim is, the Met have indeed stipulated how they want their guests to dress. Specifically, they’ve invited their attendees to dress ‘in honour of Karl’.
Aside from his creations that have earnt him a spot in fashion history, his own formidable sense of style cemented him as a certified style savant.
We have no doubt the creative directors at our favourite luxury fashion houses will be overjoyed (if not intimidated, at the least) for having to create looks based on Lagerfeld’s own archives.
We’ll certainly see a lot of tweed and pearls à la his time at Chanel and possibly Memphis Group-inspired creations to honour his tenure at Fendi, but the real red carpet queen will undoubtedly the person who bares it all and dresses like Karl himself, complete with white bouffant hair, black sunglasses and their very own Choupette.
All eyes will also be on Virginie Viard, Lagerfeld’s protégé at Chanel, who took over at the maison following his untimely passing.
Who Is Attending The 2023 Met Gala?
If Lagerfeld’s runway presentations at Chanel are anything to go by, we can only guess that this exclusive guest list will become even more selective.
So far, Dua Lipa, Penélope Cruz, Michaela Coel and Roger Federer have been confirmed as co-chairs, but we’re assuming that Karl’s Chanel darlings including Lily-Rose Depp, Margot Robbie and Kristen Stewart will certainly be there to honour the late-designer.
With many of the top models and designers either employed by Karl or good friends with the late-fashion maven, we can only image that this year’s Met Gala will have a solemn undertone to it as the fashion set remember the life and legacy of an icon.
Now, according to a new report from Page Six, it seems like this powerful fashion force, the KarJenner family, won’t actually be invited to the event.
“Anna Wintour is cracking down on the guest list at the annual fashion fete—and that no Kardashians will make the cut,” the publication wrote. However, for style savants you’d know of how unlikely this would be.
Not only is the KarJenner family one of the most influential group of people in living history (regardless of whether you like them or not, their chokehold on the cultural zeitgeist is second to none), but the family actually has a relationship with Chanel, so it’s unlikely that they won’t make the cut.
If you recall, Kendall Jenner herself was once a ‘bride’ for Karl’s Chanel, and the late designer even once made a brief cameo appearance on Keeping Up With The Kardashians. We guess we will have to wait until May to find out for sure.
As for the actual exhibition itself? The Met’s custom curator Andrew Bolton revealed in an interview that it won’t be a “retrospect” of his life.
“At its heart the exhibition will look at the evolution of Karl’s two dimensional drawings into three dimensional garments,” he said.
“We could not do a traditional retrospective. For one thing, I think Karl would have hated that. Even though one of his facets was that he was a historicist, and he would revisit themes in his work, he was always looking to the future in his own work—he hated looking back at the past,” he added.
“It was something he had a very conflicted relationship with.”
While we’re sure all of the designers are furiously sketching and extending invitations to their celebrity clients, we’re keeping an eye out on social media to gauge who will be wearing what. Oh, to be a fly on the atelier wall.
