Karl Lagerfeld For Next Met Gala's Theme Is A No For Me, Here's Why...
By Kathryn Sohm
Karl Lagerfeld’s career in fashion was tumultuous, full of accomplishments, like revamping the Chanel brand as Creative Director, and also controversial, as he was prone to making offensive comments. Unsurprisingly, when it was announced that the Met’s new Costume Institute exhibit will be Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, people were in uproar.
Designer Themed
Regardless of who the designer is, it’s noteworthy whenever the Costume Institute dedicates an entire exhibit to a single designer. This is only the Met’s third designer-based theme, prior cases being Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between (2017) and Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (2011).
The 2023 exhibition will focus on Lagerfeld’s 65 years in fashion, although it won’t be a traditional retrospective. The exhibit, funded by Chanel, Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld (Lagerfeld’s namesake brand), and Condé Nast, will focus on Lagerfeld’s sketches as a unifying theme.
The Directors of The Met Speak
Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French Director of The Met, said, “Karl Lagerfeld was one of the most captivating, prolific and recognisable forces in fashion and culture, known as much for his extraordinary designs and tireless creative output as for his legendary persona. This immersive exhibition will unpack his singular artistic practice, inviting the public to experience an essential part of Lagerfeld’s boundless imagination and passion for innovation.”
Lagerfeld was a staunch supporter of the thin, almost-starving look that supermodels have traditionally possessed, stating that “no one wants to see curvy women.” He was no stranger contradictions, as he commonly made homophobic remarks despite he himself being gay. “For me it’s difficult to imagine—one of the papas at work and the other at home with the baby. How would that be for the baby? I don’t know. I see more lesbians married with babies than I see boys married with babies. And I also believe more in the relationship between mother and child than in that between father and child,” he said once.
Lagerfeld On The #MeToo Movement
Perhaps some of his most horrific opinions were on the #MeToo movement: “If you don’t want your pants pulled about, don’t become a model! Join a nunnery, there’ll always be a place for you in the convent.”
The theme announcement brings up much discussion on the separation of the art and the artist. However, this exhibit seems too close to praising Lagerfeld, the man, more than his accomplishments. While it’s impossible to ignore Lagerfeld’s contributions to the world of fashion, it seems unnecessary to dedicate an exhibit, and synchronous Met Gala, to someone whose career was so riddled with fatphobic, Islamaphobic, and sexist comments. While Lagerfeld died in early 2019, the suffering he caused is far too recent to ignore.