THE 2023 MET GALA: THE BIGGEST EVENT IN FASHION PAYS HOMAGE TO KARL LAGERFELD

Everyone in fashion knows: May 1st is reserved for the Met Gala, an iconic event watched closely by the whole world. Organised by the queen of fashion and editor of American Vogue Anna Wintour, the Met Ball blends philanthropy and style to the highest degree.

The goal of this elite gathering? To raise funds for the Anna Wintour Costume Center, previously the Costume Institute, a specialised wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (AKA the Met) for the preservation of historic fashion and clothing.

Each year, the Met throws a supersized gala for a select list of VIPs who walk the red carpet dressed to celebrate the theme of the year's Anna Wintour Costume Center exhibit. In 2022, the them was In America: An Anthology of Fashion: Gilded Age, and 2023 signals a vibrant homage to one of the most celebrated designers in the world: Karl Lagerfeld.

He was an assistant at Balmain until the early 1960s, then accessories designer at Chloe, and then the illustrious creative director at Chanel since 1983. He died in 2019, leaving Choupette, his beloved cat, and his admirers bereft of great man who was always dressed in black and white.

From discreet homages to ones that were larger than life, the Kaiser, as he was known, was celebrated in many different ways.

Several celebrities stood out with very original outfits, like the actor Jared Leto and the singers Doja Cat and Lil Nas X. Rather than a direct homage to Karl, these three saluted Choupette, the feline princess of the great couturier. Jared Leto went big with an almost surreal, larger-than-life cat costume, while Doja Cat, went in a body-skimming version with incredible cat-like makeup. For Lil Nas X, it was a full crystal look.

Other guests chose to dive into Karl's early years at Chanel, with vintage ensembles. For example, Dua Lipa wore an interlocking C ballgown, originally worn by Claudia Schiffer on the Autumn-Winter couture runway in 1992. The star of Babylon, Margot Robbie, the last ambassador of Chanel chosen by Karl Lagerfeld, dressed in a vintage black dress from the Spring-Summer 1993 couture collection.

We'd be remiss not to mention Penelope Cruz, co-president of the event, who travelled back in time to the beginning of Karl's career wearing the ultimate piece of any collection, the bridal gown, from the Spring-Summer 88 collection.

Penelope Cruz at the 2023 Met Gala

Among the beautiful faces, two Chanel muses well-known in France also made an appearance on the red carpet: Angèle and Marion Cotillard. The young Belgian singer wore a dress inspired by the 1995 Spring-Summer collection, while the actress wore a mythical dress that she wore back in 1998 at the Bafta awards, when she won for her performance in La Vie en Rose. 

Other stars interpreted the theme through the inspiring works of other iconic designers, Valentino, Gucci or Versace. For Selma Hayek and Pedro Pascal, red was the name of the game.  

Inaugurated by the Met Gala, the corresponding exhibition “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” opens on May 5th (until July 16^th) and marks the first retrospective dedicated to the immense career of Karl Lagerfeld. The exhibition presents the duality of the Kaiser, as well as all the revolutions he brought to the world of fashion. In total, about 150 outfits and other designs by Karl are on display. Between feminine and masculine, between tradition and futurism, between black-and-white and colours, this New York City expo is full of surprises, just like the ponytailed enigma it honours.

Don't forget that the coming months will bring more apparitions of Karl Lagerfeld. The platform Disney+ announced that it is working on a series called Kaiser Karl which follows the designer's ascent in the world of Parisian fashion. The actor Daniel Brühl (Inglorious Basterds) was chosen to incarnate the Kaiser. The casting also includes Alex Lutz in the role of Pierre Bergé and Jeanne Damas as Paloma Picasso. Its release date has not yet been revealed.