A METropolitan night
The 2023 Met Gala and its controversial theme explained
JESSICA MILLS / ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR / THE USD VISTA
Popularly referred to as “fashion’s biggest night out,” this year’s Met Gala theme honored the late Karl Lagerfeld, well known for his work as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel. Annually held at New York’s Metropolitan Museum on the first Monday of May, high-profile celebrities, influencers and people of affluence graced the event’s “red” carpet with one-of-a-kind looks that adhere to the theme of “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.”
The Met Gala is organized and presided over by Anna Wintour, who has served as the Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue magazine since 1988. But, the event dates back to 1948, initially established by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert. The gala acts as a charity fundraiser for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and raises eight-figure sums each year, according to Vogue. Each year various attendees are chosen to host the Gala. Penélope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa and Wintour were this year’s hosts.
Lagerfeld is a major name in the fashion world. He entered the industry when he started working with Pierre Balmain, who founded the French luxury fashion house Balmain in 1945.
Lagerfeld worked as Balmain’s assistant after winning a coat designing competition in 1955. This path eventually led to his work with fashion houses Tiziano, Chloé, Curiel and Fendi. Lagerfeld is widely known for his ready-to-wear collections with Fendi, where he worked for over 50 years. This time stamp was explained as both impressive and unique in a Harper’s Bazaar article, “In today’s transient world, where designers are lucky if they last four seasons, five decades is a remarkable feat.”
Furthermore, Lagerfeld served as Chanel’s creative director from 1983 until his passing in 2019. Vogue cites his designs as giving Chanel a “facelift.” While with Chanel, Lagerfeld was known to play with many different designs and materials including tweed, “the little black dress,” quilting, golden chains and even the number five — a name given to one of Chanel’s most popular perfumes. Lagerfeld also created Chanel’s famous double-C logo.
In 1984, Lagerfeld founded his own ready-to-wear fashion house, Karl Lagerfeld. The brand features luxury fashion, accessories, shoes and more. The company was sold to the Tommy Hilfiger Group in 2005 and is currently owned by Investment Fund Apax Partners, as reported by Vogue Business.
Because Karl worked with multiple fashion houses, some attendees pulled from archived fashion designs, while others donned outfits synonymous to Lagerfeld’s own attire.
USD senior Haily Hirmez loved actress Keke Palmer’s tweed look.
“It was classy and sophisticated, without looking unrealistic and over the top,” Hirmez said. “The pearls and the rhinestones made the dress shine in a subtle way.”
Although this was a favored look for Hirmez, she felt that many others fell flat.
“Almost all looks flopped for me,” Hirmez explained. “But the biggest flops in my opinion were Gigi Hadid’s, Janelle Monae’s and Kylie Jenner’s. Gigi’s looked like a Halloween costume, Janelle’s was not even a dress, but rather a hanging cage, and Kylie’s looked like she was wrapped in a comforter. Jared Leto’s cat costume was also a major flop. He wore a cat costume to a highly esteemed gala… need more be said?”
USD junior Yana Kouretas enjoyed Jared Leto and Doja Cat’s take on the theme.
“I thought that Jared Leto and Doja Cat, who impersonated Karl’s cat — which I thought was absolutely hilarious and a funny take on the theme — shows that it doesn’t have to be as serious.”
Musical artist Lil Nas X attended the gala nearly naked and covered in silver crystals. Wearing a silver and pearl-studded mask with whiskers, it seemed he also paid tribute to Choupette, Karl’s cat. Nicole Kidman went for a more nostalgic look and donned the Chanel dress from her 2004 Chanel No. 5 commercial.
Anok Yai was awarded “Best Glow” of the night from the Cut, for her luminous skin and jelly-fish-like gold and silver sequined dress by designer Prabal Gurung. Also popular across social media platforms and news outlets was Pedro Pascal’s Valentino black tie outfit. The actor bared his legs with a pair of black shorts, black boots and red overcoat ensemble.
Although many celebrities attended the event, the theme sparked both criticism and controversy. Lagerfield has a history of making fatphobic, racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments. He has also spoken against the #MeToo movement and sexual assault survivors, telling the fashion magazine Numeró that he was “fed up” with the movement, according to the Chicago Tribune.
In an interview with German fashion magazine Focus he expressed that “no one wants to see curvy women,” among other harmful comments. Lagerfield also spoke out against same-sex marriage and gay male couples adopting babies. He told Vice in 2010 that he “believe[d] more in the relationship between mother and child than in that between father and child.”
Although many happily attended the event, other celebrities decided to sit this year out. Actor Jameela Jamil shared her thoughts on Instagram in October 2022 saying, “This man…was indeed, supremely talented, but used his platform is such a distinctly hateful way, mostly towards women, so repeatedly and up until the last years of his life, showing no remorse, offering no atonement, no apology, no help to groups he attacked…there was no explanation for his cruel outbursts.”
While most celebrities dressed in black-and-white, true to many of Lagerfeld’s Chanel designs and his own wardrobe, others took to protesting on the actual carpet. Viola Davis however, wore a bright pink gown fit with feathers, sequins and a long train. Lagerfeld “famously hated the color pink,” according to Buzzfeed and many wondered whether this was Davis’ own form of protest.
Kouretas wasn’t entirely shocked by the choice of theme.
“I think they could have done more, in terms of choosing a better theme,” Kouretas said. “I’m not surprised that they attributed it to Karl, it’s just unfortunate given his reputation. But, I don’t think that the fashion industry is going to stand up for issues [that he causes] unfortunately.”
Similarly, Hirmez questioned the necessity of the event altogether.
“I think the event is unnecessary,” Hirmez stated. “In my opinion, when you’re raising money for a good cause, all should be able to contribute. It should not just be to those who are famous.”
Lagerfeld isn’t the only designer that has been singled out for the Gala. In 1973, the event honored Balenciaga, Christian Dior in 1996 and many others throughout the years.
From high-end couture to ready-to-wear fashion, Lagerfeld was coined one of the world’s most decorated fashion designers. While his influence will likely remain for future decades, many question Karl Lagerfeld’s public, frequent and recent comments.