Karl Lagerfeld was a piece of shit. why he of all people is the one being "celebrated" at the met gala is just kind of shocking. Racist, Fatphobic, Islamophobic and one who stated women should be expected to be sexually assaulted at their jobs and disavowed the metoo movement who in turn did nothing special over at Chanel while he was creative director. I will have to also consider that his family were nazis and he went on to be the creative director of a fashion house founded by a nazi.

(I hate the use of the term "problematic" in this article but the actual title of this is: "Why the Met Gala's Karl Lagerfeld Theme Is Controversial")

Anok Yai has arrived at the 2023 Met Gala

Claudia Schiffer for Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld, 1995

Instead of Karl Lagerfeld, the theme of the 2023 Met Gala should be a tribute to this icon:

Chanel Haute Couture Spring 1991

Chanel Spring/Summer 1997 Haute Couture✨

the major takeaway from last night is that Karl Lagerfeld was more of a personality than a designer and that Yves Saint Laurent was the clear winner of that rivalry.

For those who aren’t familiar, Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent were both fashion wunderkinds who emerged in the late 1950s, both appointed heads of major brands at the same time, and had very intense rivalry. Yves Saint Laurent took over Dior after the passing of Christian Dior, helped cement the brand as a major player in fashion, and then after a disastrous stint being drafted into the French army, built his own fashion brand that went down in history with its unique and diverse and always evolving looks.

Karl was always kind of behind Yves. He designed for a lot of major fashion brands, and managed to establish himself at the top of the game at Chloé, but he didn’t get his full on legendary status until he took over Chanel in 1983. This history of the Chanel brand was already pretty frought, with Coco Chanel modernizing and defining the fashion of the 1920s and 30s, but being forced to shut down during World War 2, during which she collaborated with the Nazis. Behind the Bastards did a pretty great two episodes on her. When the brand returned in the 60s, fashion had changed tremendously. Dior, Givenchy, Balenciaga, and Balmain had all taken over mid-century fashion, and now that aesthetic was being taken over by mod, the miniskirt, and the likes of Mary Quant, Pierre Cardin, and Paco Rabanne. So when Chanel came back it was largely seen as a stuffy old lady brand, which it remained until Karl took it over.

Now, this is where Karl actually did something really impressive that you honestly can’t take away from him: he took a fashion house in severe decline, one that had been in its flop era for literal decades, and he made it hip again, while still managing to stay true to the ethos that Coco Chanel had laid out.

Chanel is clean, minimalistic, and classy. It is easy to wear, effortless, and always extremely glamorous, which is what made it so iconic in the 20s and 30s. Given that the 50s and 60s were all about making a fucking effort, the thing that the brand managed to keep doing well was its suits. You know what kind of suits I’m talking about. Tweed jackets and midi skirts, neat tailoring, delicate pastel colors, pearls and camellias and chains. It’s not so much that it was edgy and exciting but it was expensive and it was *Chanel* and people wore it for the status symbol alone. That is what Karl took advantage of and managed to re-invent.

That sort of aesthetic fit perfectly into the you-can-never-be-too-rich-or-too-skinny 80s, when wearing status symbol clothing was everything.

Then, in the 90s, he managed to keep things exciting by following exactly what was on-trend at the time and incorporating elements of street wear and hip-hop.

However, after that, he kind of lost his edge and just rested on “it’s Chanel” rather than actually pushing the fashion envelope. By the time he died in 2019, he was a fucking dinosaur and fashion had long since moved past him. The thing that he was ultimately most well known for was his own very distinctive look and flamboyant personality.

Before I ever started studying fashion, I knew who Karl was because I’d seen him so many times, and I’d seen parodies of him so many times. I knew *him* but I didn’t really know his work. And I think having an incredibly boring Met Gala dedicated to him reveals that: his actual artistic legacy is skinnier than the models he used to berate. Karl Lagerfeld built his brand on his diva personality, and that sort of personality and outlook just isn’t hip anymore. Fashion is always about moving forward, and Lagerfeld’s beliefs should remain fossilized in the past.

Claudia Schiffer for Chanel Spring, 1996

Chanel spring/summer 1999 Model: Devon Aoki

What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that's gone forever, impossible to reproduce.

Karl Lagerfeld

can we all remember karl lagerfeld was a racist islamophobic fatphobic anti feminist piece of shit, apologist of sexual assault in the fashion industry and harasser himself, said lots of shit like the holocaust being the greatest thing germany ever invented, instead of acting like the world paying tribute to his 'legacy' is normal

Elle Fanning wearing Vivienne Westwood at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala Exhibition celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 1st 2023.

Naomi @ Chloé Fall/Winter 1996 by Karl Lagerfeld.

Helmut Newton. Dalila Di Lazzaro for Karl Lagerfeld. 1977

I Am Collective Memories   •    Follow me, — says Visual Ratatosk

Ellen von Unwerth - Shalom Harlow Wearing a Dress by Karl Lagerfeld for Chloé (Vogue 1993)

Becoming Karl Lagerfeld (2024) Daniel Brühl as Karl Lagerfeld

We have a date! It's dropping on the 7th of June on Disney+. And loook we're getting more Dancing Brühl.

🎥 Teaser Trailer (with English subs)