Karl Lagerfeld was a regular attendee at The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute, from the Seventh on Sale benefit in 1991 to “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” in 2011—and of course for the Chanel exhibition in 2005. And yet, says the Costume Institute’s Wendy Yu Curator in Charge, Andrew Bolton: “Karl never tired of telling me that fashion did not belong in a museum. When we worked on the Chanel show together, he was incredibly generous in what he lent, but he was completely disinterested in the exhibition itself! He would say, ‘Fashion is not art—fashion belongs on the street, on women’s bodies, on men’s bodies.’”
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The Met Gala 2023 theme? The 2023 Met Gala dress code is “in honor of Karl.” The exhibition will see Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s Wendy Yu Curator in Charge, examine the work of Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019).
For 2023, the Met Gala has centered its theme on Karl Lagerfeld, and it celebrates the opening of the “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” exhibit, which honors the late designer’s style and themes.
Let’s start with the basics: The Met Gala is a fundraising event that celebrates the opening of the Costume Institute’s spring 2023 exhibition, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.”
Karl, he was a German-born fashion designer who worked for brands like Balmain, Chloé, Fendi, and Chanel — as well as his eponymous brand. He headed Chanel for three decades and died in 2019 at age 85.
The New York Times said of Karl in its obituary, “His contribution to fashion was not in creating a new silhouette, as designers like Cristobal Balenciaga, Christian Dior and Coco Chanel herself did. Rather, he created a new kind of designer: the shape-shifter. That is to say, he was the creative force who lands at the top of a heritage brand and reinvents it by identifying its sartorial semiology and then pulls it into the present with a healthy dose of disrespect and a dollop of pop culture.”
The Met Gala’s theme, meanwhile, is based on the museum’s upcoming exhibition. This year’s dress code, therefore, is ‘In honour of Karl’, coinciding with the exhibition, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, at The Costume Institute.
The 2023 Met Gala theme is…“In honor of Karl.” Vogue summed up three ways that the theme could be interpreted: 1) An archival look from one of the labels that Karl headed, 2) Wearing a contemporary look from one of said brands, especially Chanel or Fendi, and 3) Dressing like Karl himself (or his cat, Choup
Themes for the Met Gala are chosen in tandem with an exhibition at the museum’s Costume Institute. The Lagerfeld-centric exhibition, consisting of about 150 pieces, will be curated by Andrew Bolton, Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s Wendy Yu Curator in Charge, and Amanda Harlech, a collaborator of Lagerfeld’s
While the gala might be a charity event, and primarily about raising funds, that doesn’t mean just anyone gets to attend. Since 1995, the guest list has been carefully presided over by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and this year is no different.
One of fashion’s biggest nights is right around the corner. In January, Vogue announced the hosts of the 2023 Met Gala and the first official attendees. Penélope Cruz, Dua Lipa, Roger Federer and Michaela Coel are the co-chairs of the annual themed fashion exhibition for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Met Gala tickets are being sold at a whopping price of $50,000 (more than Rs 41 lakh) per person, according to a report by entertainment website Page Six. Last year, the prices were capped at $30,000
It Is impossible to talk about this year’s Met Gala theme without talking about how controversial it’s been. Karl himself was no stranger to backlash. His anti-fat language surrounding women’s bodies has been called “cruel.” He said he was “fed up” with the #MeToo movement and sent flowers to an accused rapist.
As the Associated Press put it, “He spoke against gay men who want to adopt children, migrants, sexual assault survivors, the #MeToo movement and ‘ugly’ people, without apology.”
