The First Sunday in May

Over the last couple of years, I think it would be fair to say that the prestige and honour that was once attached to the MET Gala has increasingly gone down. The last 2 themes were less than stellar ideas given the climate of the world. In 2021 the theme was In America: A Lexicon of Fashion followed by 2022’s insanely tone-deaf theme The Gilded Age. Given that the world was barely getting back to normal after the pandemic, a high society party that’s theme was literally a throwback to a time when the upper class flaunted their wealth and snubbed the lower class was a little to on the nose for my liking.

So, when it was announced that the 2023 MET Gala’s theme was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty it was clear to me that it was no longer about celebrating art and fashion. Instead, blatantly celebrating a man who was widely considered fashion biggest gatekeeper while completely ignoring his very sorted history as one of most problematic men.

I don’t have the time, patience or political word play to breakdown the many, many, many controversies that Karl Lagerfeld has done. Time magazine has a great article that details everything. I’m also no going to publicly shame the people of colour who thought it was a good look to attend this year’s gala. All I’m a say is you went, we saw you and I’m pretty sure it’ll come back to you in one form or another. Today I’m just going to recount those who had some standout looks both good and bad.

First, the theme was meant to be a way to “honour” Karl… But if you know anything about Karl’s style, he religiously wore the SAME thing for any public appearance. So, I wasn’t sure how people could both standout and honour a man that’s work the same type of outfit since the early 90’s. Then I thought well, maybe they’ll honour him with reimagined concepts from his extensive career. But again, Chanel is classic and traditional in their design history. It’s a brand that does very little coloured pieces, and not a lot of out of the box silhouettes. So, I knew it was going to be a boring carpet.  

With all that said, here we go…

Ben Platt in Wiederhoet

This look is a everything that Chanel is known for. It’s a traditional tweed suit with a chain link belt. Wiederhoet perfectly captured one of Karl’s signature pieces and a look the brand is known for.

 Dwyane Wade in Prada

I still can’t believe he and his wife attended this one, given how outspoken they’ve been about trans rights, but back to his look. Its’s the cape and gloves that was a clear nod to Karl Lagerfeld’s signature look.

 Barry Keoghan in Burberry

I loved this look! This look is something I could see Chanel designing, but it’s the colours that really took it up another level. Cobalt blue is a colour that I’ve never seen in Chanel’s archive, making it a refreshing look to a rather muted carpet.

Pedro Pascal in Valentino

It feels like they knew this theme was boring and said “F**k it, let do something real different.” The colour, the shorts and the silhouette were executed flawlessly. Well done.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Thom Browne

This was a great street rendition of the classic Chanel suit. For me, this was only look that embodied the theme while staying true to their own brand.

Taika Waititi in Prabal Gurung

Now, this was my favourite look of the entire red carpet. The design was an excellent nod to Karl Lagerfeld’s work with Yves Saint Laurent the draped neckless are considered a Chanel staple and the colour both stands out but doesn’t overpower the ensemble. Just perfection!

Now, as I said earlier this year was so underwhelming and as a result, I don’t have a longer list for you. But I’d love to know what you thought of this year’s gala. Was there a standout look that I missed? What do you think about this year’s theme and were there any celebrities you were surprised attended? As always let’s keep the conversation going in the comments below.