Met Gala 2023: A Laud to Karl Lagerfeld and his Legacy
The long wait is over! The MET Institute has now unveiled its theme for 2023’s Met Gala. From Bouclé tweed to embroidered and sequined numbers, these are all the drama to expect for the upcoming star-studded event.
On the first Monday of May, the online fashion world will be once again sated for a fashion feast affair. Another reason for Fashion fans and critics, or even the wannabes in the industry to stay online. Critique-ing the best and of course the worst looks of the event. And as early as now, fans have already speculated what looks to expect and even those who will be delivering injustices on the red-carpet.
Let’s get to know more about the MET and the legendary visionary star of the year.
An annual star-studded fundraising event
Met Gala is an annual fundraising event attended by the A-listers in the industry. After the gala night, The MET Museum in New York opens its doors to the public that will run from the first Tuesday of May to July. Anna Wintour as the long-time hostess of the event also selects the stars who will be attending the fashion’s biggest night out. And if you loathe Anna for not seeing your favorite stars at the MET, your hatred towards her might be unnecessary, cause sometimes the expected guests turn down the invites. Take Beyoncé as one of the stars who have been constantly rejecting Wintour’s invites for the past years. (As per Anna Wintour through Vogue’s Youtube Channel) But who knows? Maybe this 2023 she’ll gag us with her presence.
Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty
Last year, The MET Gala assembled with the theme: Gilded Glamor, a retrospective to New York’s Gilded age in fashion. Many were disappointed to see how these stars pulled up with their choices of their looks. Some were in-line with the theme while some failed to deliver. But fans might have raised their expectations too far. Expecting them in grandiose and costumey looks is not the whole point of the gala. Rihanna must have raised the bar when it comes to doing MET Gala looks. But not everyone is Rihanna. A lot of them just want to be chill and pretty while enjoying the night.
Meanwhile, A number of the iconic designers were also given tribute as the theme for its respective years. Namely, Alexander McQueen, Elsa Schiaparelli, Yves Saint-Laurent, Christian Dior and the most recent Rei Kawakubo last 2016. For the MET Gala 2023, Anna Wintour and Andrew Bolton announced next year’s theme: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. This explores Lagerfeld’s unmatched legacy in the industry. A homage to Lagerfeld’s artistic methodology and stylistic vocabulary of his designs throughout recurring themes across more than 65 years.
Who is Karl Lagerfeld?
Karl Lagerfeld earned his position as the creative director of Chanel in the early 80’s. At that time, Chanel as a brand barely perched atop alongside the successful fashion houses of the decade. But not a single voice in his head told him that he can’t take the challenge. Indeed, he revamped Chanel as a brand and brought something new to the table. The clientele of Chanel truly embraced and loved Lagerfeld’s vision for the brand.
However, Karl Lagerfeld did not exclusively work for Chanel. Prior to his Chanel stint, he also worked for Pierre Balmain followed by his stint at Jean Patou. After he left Paris, he started freelance designing which included Chloé. He also worked for Fendi where he made an immense contribution to the brand by giving the furline a new life through his groundbreaking designs. Later on, he took the challenge to revive Chanel and successfully re-energized its DNA.
What to expect for MET Gala 2023?
Certainly, There is a lot to expect for next year’s MET Gala. From the stars who will surprise us with the Chanel looks to the Chanel ambassadors that will debut their Met Gala appearance. One of the most-talked about celebs is Jennie Kim of BlackPink. The K-Pop star has been making her name known not only in the K-POP world but also in the Fashion Industry. She has been a long-time Chanel muse and ambassador along with Kirsten Stewart and Lily Rose-Depp. She also became one of Lagerfeld’s favorite muse of the brand attending several shows of Chanel up to this date. Will it be her first MET alongside her Blackpink-sister Rosé who made her debut at the MET GALA last year as Saint Laurent’s ambassador?
Looks might also be predictable since Lagerfeld’s notable legacy in Chanel were mostly the Boucle tweed fabric, Houndstooth prints, a little sequined number and classic Chanel embroideries. The legible two Cs of Chanel also became iconic from the 80’s — when status and power highly matters — are also expected to rock the red-carpet. Fans were also speculating about certain celebrities who will pull up with archive Chanel pieces that will truly embrace the theme of the event — paying homage to Karl Lagerfeld’s work.
However, Andrew Bolton—Curator of the MET Museum—revealed that Lagerfeld will more likely hate to see archival pieces on the red carpet as he hates the idea of retrospective in Fashion. This is a challenge for Virginie Viard as the creative director of the brand. Reinterpreting Chanel under Lagerfeld and at the same time bring something new to the table.
One thing we’re hoping for is for these girls to rock it, especially for Virginie to score a success, considering that the latest Chanel collections under her fresh stint have received not-so-good reviews from fans and clientele. Now that the spotlight is on her and Chanel, we hope to see her redeem herself and shine through!
