This year’s Met Gala theme:
The theme of this year’s Met Gala celebrated Karl Lagerfeld’s acclaimed career. Lagerfeld was a renowned fashion designer and his recent passing in 2019 shook the fashion industry, an industry which he influenced greatly and was a prominent figure in. He was best known for being the creative director of Chanel from 1983. He was key in rejuvenating the brand which had experienced downfall since Coco Chanel’s death a decade prior. The regained success of Chanel was thanks to Lagerfeld’s bold changes in the ‘prêt-à-porter’ (ready to wear) clothing line, which previously had adhered to 60’s trends consisting of more conservative silhouettes. Having introduced more risqué lines with shorter, tighter skirts, raised heels and padded shoulders that demarcated 80’s trends, Chanel’s success subsequently skyrocketed. Lagerfeld was also the creative director of Fendi, director of his own fashion label and famously collaborated on several high-end fashion projects and orchestrated notorious catwalks such as Paris Fashion Week.
Lagerfeld was known for his iconic style consisting of black sunglasses, striking white hair, fingerless gloves and stiff detachable collars.
The controversy of Karl Lagerfeld:
Lagerfeld did not shy away from controversy. He has made fatphobic, Islamophobic, antisemitic, anti-immigrant, dehumanising and impertinent comments. While Lagerfeld claimed in 2007 that his controversial personality was an act, whether a facade or not, this behaviour was outrageous. The fact his behaviour was excused due to his supremacy in the industry is sadly unsurprising given the power Vogue and the Met have in the fashion industry and within elitist circles. From commenting on Adele as ‘a little too fat’, fat shaming Heidi Klum, criticizing Pippa Middleton’s appearance and stating that ‘no one wants to see plus size models’, to name just a few from the plethora of his questionable fatphobic and misogynistic comments.
In his Spring 1994 Couture collection, he disrespectfully took a verse from the Qur’an for his clothing. Additionally, amidst the 2015 European Migrant crisis, he denounced Angela Merkel’s (the German Chancellor’s) immigration policy which allowed the entrance of Syrian refugees, saying ‘you cannot kill millions of Jews and then take in millions of their worst enemies afterwards, even if there are decades between the events’. Moreover, he said he was contemplating discarding his German citizenship because of the arrival of 1 million Muslim immigrants in Germany accepted by Merkel which he claimed caused an influx of Neo-Nazism in Germany.
To add to his already alarming behaviour, Lagerfeld demonstrated his contempt for the me too movement. He said ‘if you don’t want your pants pulled about, don’t become a model. Join a nunnery, there’ll always be a place for you in the convent.’ In addition, he questioned victims’ claims and criticised how long it took them to make the claims.
Jameela Jamil was among one of the few celebrities who publicly criticised the choice of Karl Lagerfeld for the Met Gala theme. On Instagram, she described his actions as being ‘hateful’ and ‘cruel’ for his attacks towards marginalised groups and women. Having never shown any remorse for his actions, Jameela was frustrated to see that the Met Gala depicted a positive image of Lagerfeld, consequently concealing his immoral behaviour.
How some celebrities threw shade:
As stated by Jameela Jamil, it was distressing to see the number of celebrities and ‘feminists’ who attended and didn’t comment on any of Lagerfeld’s abhorrent behaviour. The convenience of ‘separating the artist from the art’ to the ‘benefit’ of the industry and elitist circles damages society. However, that being said, those who did make statements against the theme of the Met Gala via fashion choices, even if it was subtle, were not overlooked! Viola Davis, Ashley Graham and Precious Lee all wore pink which Karl famously said was an unflattering colour. Furthermore, Lagerfeld’s detest of sweatpants was well known, he once stated ‘sweatpants are a sign of defeat’, and so it was empowering to see the famous model Irina Shayk wearing sweatpants to the Met Gala afterparty. Pascal also chose to wear all things Lagerfeld disapproved of: socks below the knee with hairy legs! In addition, in most photos at the Met Gala, he raised his middle finger … utter shade!
Lizzo also made a statement by posing in an Instagram photo eating McDonald’s chips whilst wearing her Met Gala outfit consisting of a classic Chanel silhouette with pearls that Lagerfeld would’ve adored. Lagerfeld notably said ‘you’ve got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly’. Lizzo being plus size and indulging in chips whilst wearing the glamorous Chanel piece is a fabulous middle finger to Lagerfeld’s attitudes!
To conclude, the fashion industry has a responsibility to ensure they do not condone, support or perpetuate the discriminatory beliefs shared by Lagerfeld. The Met Gala, being one of the most prestigious fashion events, demonstrates their failure to recognise the culpability they have. Politics and fashion are inextricably linked and in the current climate the industry must wake up and acknowledge this pressing issue accordingly.
Written by: Emily Cohen
Edited by: Hannah Clarke
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References:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Karl-Lagerfeld
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/karl-lagerfeld-met-gala-theme-controversy-b2330578.html
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/02/karl-lagerfeld-met-gala-theme-controversy
https://apnews.com/article/who-is-karl-lagerfeld-met-gala-b0b79b075176852738713635080c6e2a