It’s no secret that this year’s Met Gala garnered a lot of attention. For one, three people came dressed as cats. This was because of Karl Lagerfeld, who this year’s Met Gala theme honored. Besides the three people who came dressed as his cat, many celebrities showed out in stunning attire. Dua Lipa wore a dress from the Chanel archives that Lagerfeld designed, and Jenna Ortega had a beautiful gothic ensemble. The celebrities that came out did an excellent job staying on theme (unlike the “camp” theme in 2019) and drew some much-needed positive attention to the Gala. However, there was a notable air of tension this year.
Karl Lagerfeld, while an objectively ingenious designer, had some controversy surrounding his career. For one, he had allegations of fatphobia. He stated during his career that the fashion world was no place for curvy women, and that unhealthiness should not be celebrated. Many people took offense to this statement, as there is a growing movement that all models should not have to fit in the same box. Several brands have started incorporating plus-sized models into their runways, but Lagerfeld was against this with Chanel. He believed that skinny women were better for runways, and didn’t want to showcase “healthier women.” Because of his fatphobia allegations, many people took negatively to the Met Gala theme.
He was also notably against the #MeToo movement. The #MeToo movement encouraged women to come forward with stories of sexual assault to help survivors feel heard. He stated that he believed that if women didn’t want to be sexually assaulted, they should join a nunnery and not become models. This blatant disrespect of sexual assault survivors is, of course, enough to upset people. He gave flowers to a man accused of sexual assault because he was always a “nice guy.” Lagerfeld was tone-deaf to women’s issues, especially considering he worked closely with models during his career.
Although Lagerfeld was a gay man himself, he openly advocated against gay marriage. He believed that gay marriage made “the oppressed the oppressors.” He didn’t think that queer couples deserved to live a normal middle-class life and that all they needed was the right to the difference. Gay marriage is still a very heavily debated topic in the United States, with many queer couples afraid that what happened to Roe v. Wade will happen to their right to marry. So, perhaps honoring someone who was against the rights of this minority wasn’t exactly timely by the Met Gala.
There were many noticeable absences at this year’s Met Gala. Blake Lively and Selena Gomez are among the most notable. While it is only speculatory, many believe this is because of the decision to honor Lagerfeld. It’s possible that the reason we didn’t see these ladies, who often have fan-favorite looks, is that they don’t endorse Lagerfeld’s values. These absences were heavily felt and made quite the statement to the Met about what they choose to honor and endorse.
The Met has had several great and several questionable themes in the past, so it’s not too surprising that they weren’t scared to go with this more controversial theme. The theme didn’t detract from the positive attention the Gala usually gets, as many people still tuned in to see their favorite celebrities’ looks. Perhaps next year they will stay more in line and choose a less controversial topic, but let’s be real—people are tuning in either way, and the looks are sure to wow.
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