Ahead of the Met: Karl Lagerfeld's Best in Fashion
- Kristie O'Connor
- May 1, 2023
- 4 min read
The Met Gala is dubbed ‘fashion’s biggest night out’ for a reason. It’s the epitome of glamour and luxury, with celebrities and high fashion figures gathering for the annual fundraising event to benefit the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City.
Occurring the first Monday of May, this year’s theme is ‘A Line of Beauty: Karl Lagerfeld’. The theme is to honour the long-standing creative director of Chanel after his passing in 2019. A controversial choice for this generation of fashion fanatics, due to his past nonchalant, thoughtless comments regarding women and their bodies. However, it’s hardly deniable that the vision Lagerfeld possessed for fashion was on a completely different wavelength, being both conscientious and thoughtful.
Inspired by a post I saw on Twitter (creds: @saintdoII), it’s safe to say Lagerfeld had many muses during his career in fashion. From 90s supermodels like Claudia Schiffer, to this generations pop stars and models, like Rihanna and Cara Delevinge. They all played a role in inspiring the different eras of his career, whilst ultimately solidifying the relationship between fashion and popular culture.
Guests of this year’s Met Ball have an opportunity to take advantage of some of the most iconic fashion created by Karl Lagerfeld. This includes looking into the archives of designer brands he created for: Chloé, Fendi and Chanel. As well as drawing inspiration from the muses who always garnered a spot on his runway.
My favourite thing to do when the Met Gala eventually comes around is to investigate what ensembles would be fitting for theme. Below are some of my favourite works from Lagerfeld, why I think they’d be interesting to see on those Met steps and who I’d love to see take that direction in their style.
Who doesn’t love vintage? To honour Lagerfeld’s lengthy fashion history, where better to start than near the beginning. Although Lagerfeld’s career is mostly associated with Chanel, his stints at Chloé must not be overlooked. Described as easy-to-wear bohemian chic, Lagerfeld’s designs for Chloé revolutionised the way women’s fashion was perceived in the twentieth century. Lagerfeld was mixing the 40s and 50s into 70s fashion, pairing bulky shoulder pads with bold prints and flattering silhouettes. By the 90s, Naomi Campbell was walking the Chloé runway in mesh; still flaunting those eye-catching prints.
At an event that is celebrating someone who is best known as being the creative director at Chanel, it would be interesting to see a modern take on vintage Chloé. It would be daring to stray away from the safe option. I’d love to see someone high-profile, who is already known for great style, pull off a vintage Chloé look. If I had to choose, I’d love to see Zendaya or Florence Pugh take this on.
I know I said Chanel was a safe option, and I mean that with no disrespect. It’s hard to go wrong with Chanel, if done right (sorry Margot Robbie). There are so many glamourous, beautifully accessorised looks to choose from. One of Lagerfeld’s muses, Claudia Schiffer was labelled by Vogue as the 90s Chanel ‘It Girl’. Safe to say I agree! It would be wrong to wear vintage Chanel without some tweed, or some heavy looking accessory. To get that 90s Chanel look, the gold chains and iconic ‘CC’ monogram should be visible. The more, the better, in my opinion.
A stand-out to me from a previous Met Ball, was Lily Rose Depp in 2019. Bringing the Chanel 1992-93 Haute Couture collection to the Met Steps, Depp is no stranger to the beautiful world of Chanel. This classic dress, with the gold chains, and flower shaped brooches with the monogram would fit the theme so well this year. However, I want to see more flair! I want more extravagance and glamour. It’s the Met Gala after all. It’ll be interesting to see how many wear 90s Chanel, just because it seems so sought after in the world of celebrity. I’m expecting the likes of Bella Hadid or Anok Yai to channel the ‘It Girl’ ensembles.
For twenty-first century Karl Lagerfeld, I’d be shocked (and slightly disappointed) if nobody pulled a piece from his final collection. Filled with tweed, pearls and stacked with monogram necklaces, the final collection honoured Lagerfeld and brought his favourite fashion trends back together one last time. Taking the bold prints from his stint at Chloé, the excessive accessorising from his time at Fendi and Chanel, the collection finished off his career exquisitely. It’ll be interesting to see whether Met Gala goers will steal from this collection to honour his final works. I’d love to see Beyoncé or Blake Lively channel their boss energy wearing a tweed pantsuit, with excessive accessories (including the classic flap, obviously).
Karl Lagerfeld's legacy leaves Met Gala attendees a vast array of options in their choice for fashion's biggest night out. No matter what they decide to wear, whether they’ve been shopping at the Chanel Shopping Center (A/W 2014) or exploring the archives at Chloé, I’ll be watching to observe and critique.
Bibliography:
Bobb, B. (2017) Why Claudia Schiffer was the ultimate chanel it girl of the '90s, Vogue. Vogue. Available at: https://www.vogue.com/article/fashion-runway-claudia-schiffer-birthday-chanel
Cartner-Morley, J. (2019) Fashion bids farewell to Karl Lagerfeld at his final Chanel show, The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/mar/05/fashion-farewell-karl-lagerfeld-final-chanel-show-paris-fashion-week
Chan, E. (2023) Karl Lagerfeld-era Chloé should be your next vintage investment, British Vogue. British Vogue. Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/vintage-chloe-karl-lagerfeld
Friedman, V. (2019) Karl Lagerfeld's final Chanel Show, The New York Times. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/fashion/chanel-karl-lagerfeld-alexander-mcqueen-paris.html
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