The best day of the year is soon approaching…. That’s right! The 2023 Met Gala is returning in about a month and a half as it always does, on the first Monday of May (which happens to be May 1st!). The steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will soon be walked by the industry’s most credited celebrities, wearing designs that profoundly display fashion as its own artform. This is by far the most prestigious fashion event of the year, and designers never fail to leave the audience in awe of their creative abilities. One of the most powerful figures in fashion, Anna Wintour, who has been the longtime editor in chief of Vogue Magazine, has been in charge of hosting and organizing the Met Gala since 1995. Throughout the years Anna Wintour has directed the Met Gala, we have seen many stunning themes of this event such as last years 2022: In America: An Anthology of Fashion, the very extravagant 2019: Camp: Notes on Fashion, and the very imaginative and more self directed theme we saw in 2009, The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion. Let’s take a look at what the Met Gala will have in store for us this year…
This year, the theme of the Met Gala will be paying tribute to the late designer Karl Lagerfeld who passed away in 2019, titling the theme: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. Costume Institute creator Andrew Bolton who worked very closely with Lagerfeld, will be in charge of this years exhibition and states that the dress code is “in honor of Karl”, and that guests will be able to choose pieces from the creative directors vast archives at Chanel, Fendi, Chloe, Balmain, Patou, and Lagerfeld’s own eponymous brand (McDermott, 2023). What I am most excited for are the Chanel looks that we will be seeing this year on the steps of the Metropolitain. Karl Lagerfeld transformed the Chanel brand and modernized the designs while still staying true to the attributes that make Chanel so recognizable and unique. After he produced his first couture collection for Chanel in 1983, he quickly became a major name and face for the brand and their designs.
What I am expecting to see at this year’s Met Gala are more elegant, sophisticatedly glamorous looks that emphasize the use of accessories including head pieces, the use of pearl jewelry, gloves, and some other bold accessory pieces and hairstyles that will be the statement of the look. I think this year’s Met Gala looks will step away from the more absurd and drastic styles we typically see from many designers each year, while still showcasing and demonstrating fashion in its art form. Here are some looks designed by Karl Lagerfeld throughout the years that I hope to see on the carpet this year…








Photos found via “Karl Lagerfeld’s 100 Greatest Chanel Runway Moments” (Algoo et al, 2019) and Pinterest.
I can’t wait to see the looks at this years Met, and I am excited to see top stars like Blake Lively rule the carpet once again!
References
Algoo, J., Sheffield, L. (2019). Karl Lagerfeld’s 100 Greatest Chanel Runway Moments. BAZAAR. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/g26406292/karl-lagerfeld-best-chanel-designs/?slide=85
McDermott, K. (2023). Everything You Need To Know About The Met Gala 2023. British Vogue. https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/met-gala