Fashion’s biggest night! The 2023 Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala will honor an icon.
Organizers of the annual event — commonly called the Met Gala — announced its theme on Friday, September 30. Officially titled, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” the festivity will highlight the legacy of the famed German fashion designer who died in 2019 at age 85.
“Every design starts with a sketch,” the official Met Museum account tweeted alongside a video of Lagerfeld at work.
Like every year, the gala’s theme coincides with an exhibition at the museum. “Coming May 2023 — explore the artistic methodology and stylistic vocabulary of Karl Lagerfeld’s designs in ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beaty’ at the Met’s #CostumeInstitute,” the historic institution shared.
The showcase will open to the public on Thursday, May 5, and will be celebrated at the invite-only Met Gala on Monday, May 1. The exhibition will end on Sunday, July 16.
Every design starts with a sketch.
Coming May 2023—explore the artistic methodology and stylistic vocabulary of Karl Lagerfeld's designs in “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” at The Met’s #CostumeInstitute. pic.twitter.com/8KpP591WGn
— The Metropolitan Museum of Art (@metmuseum) September 30, 2022
Event coordinators shared further details on the special presentation via the Met Museum website.
“Focusing on the designer’s stylistic vocabulary as expressed in aesthetic themes that appear time and again in his fashions from the 1950s to his final collection in 2019, the show will spotlight the German-born designer’s unique working methodology,” a statement on the website read. “Most of the approximately 150 pieces on display will be accompanied by Lagerfeld’s sketches, which underscore his complex creative process and the collaborative relationships with his premières, or head seamstresses.”
The gala was established in 1948 to fundraise for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. In 1999, Vogue‘s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour took over as chairwoman, which paved the way for a more celebrity-focused party. The Met Gala is also one of the four days out of the year that the New York City museum is closed to the public, along with Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Through the years, the Met Gala has become a career-defining event for Hollywood’s biggest names. Kim Kardashian first graced the iconic red steps in 2013 alongside her then-husband, Kanye West. The Skims founder, who was pregnant with daughter North at the time, was the topic of discussion for months thanks to her floral dress with attached glove-sleeves. Many slammed the Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy look, but it is now hailed as one of the most memorable Met moments of all time.
“I was Kanye’s plus one & so nervous! I didn’t know anyone & I’m sure no one wanted me there lol. I did my own lipstick & the color is so off. I went home & cried after [out] of insecurity, but this is one of my fave looks now,” Kardashian tweeted in 2019.
Flash-forward to the 2022 event, the TV personality attended with her now-ex boyfriend Pete Davidson, in Marilyn Monroe’s crystal-covered Bob Mackie design — which also sparked a heated debate. (The Selfish author was accused of ripping the archival number but has denied damaging the gown.)
Other Met Gala standouts include Rihanna‘s sunny Guo Pei design at the 2015 event and Zendaya‘s Cinderella-inspired Tommy Hilfiger dress at the 2019 occasion.
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