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Met Gala 2023: Karl Lagerfeld's Archival Designs
The 2023 Met Gala took place in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1st 2023. This year, the theme was: 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty', paying homage to the late designer who worked with Balmain and helmed Chanel, Fendi, Chloé, plus his own eponymous brand throughout his lifetime.
This year’s red carpet featured a number of archival pieces from his many years of design, plus a few reimagined classics. Join us as we take a look at some of the highlights below, delving through the archives to look at some of the most influential designs by the late Karl Lagerfeld.
Custom-Made Chloé
Working first with Chloé’s brand founder, Gaby Aghion, from 1963-1983 and then again from 1992-1997, Lagerfeld helped to establish the label’s now famous bohemian, feminine style, often working with prints, bold graphics, flattering silhouettes and more.
On the Met Gala red carpet, we saw two of Lagerfeld’s most iconic designs for Chloé, reimagined by Gabriela Hearst.
Olivia Wilde
Wilde wears a custom Chloé gown, designed by Hearst and inspired by the now iconic ‘Angkor’ or violin dress which Lagerfeld debuted on the runway in 1983.
Maude Apatow
Actress Maude Apatow could also be seen in a modern adaptation of a vintage Chloé piece. Inspired by the shirt dress of the Autumn Winter 1983-84 collection, this dress pays homage to the beautiful silver detailing and the arrow-shaped tie of the original, reinventing it for a modern setting with daring cut-outs.
Couture Chanel Recreations
It is Lagerfeld’s work as artistic director of Chanel that brought his design fame to new heights. The designer worked with Chanel from 1982 until his death in 2019 and is responsible for many of the iconic Chanel designs we know and love.
Lagerfeld loved to combine classic Chanel iconography such as the camellia, pearls and bouclé suiting with more irreverent or edgy touches, such as shorter lengths or more daring necklines. He is also credited with bringing life to the interlocking CC logo that we associate with Chanel, taking it from two letters and turning it into an icon which was to be monogrammed on everything from belts to bags.
A number of celebrities were lucky enough to wear archival Chanel designs on the red carpet this year.
Dua Lipa
A co-chair of the event, Dua wore a Fall 1992 Haute Couture gown that was quintessentially Lagerfeld. As with many of his designs for Chanel, we see bouclé tweed and monochromatic detailing. A full, feminine shape meets a plunging rounded neckline.
Margot Robbie
In a black Chanel gown that was first seen on Cindy Crawford in 1993, Margot Robbie looked stunning. The dress, which was designed by Lagerfeld for the Spring Summer collection that year, features floaty chiffon elements which are contrasted with a transparent bodice and gold chain boning.
Contemporary Styles From Fendi
In 1965, the five Fendi sisters brought Lagerfeld into the fold, where he worked until his death in 2019. There, some of his most experimental work was borne, fusing Fendi’s Roman roots with futuristic elements.
When we think of Lagerfeld for Fendi, we think of the FF icon that he popularised, we think of intricate appliqués, mesh and sheer detailing and more.
These celebrities wore modern Fendi looks, some of the last he designed.
Lila Moss
Lila Moss attended the Met Gala this year accompanied by her mother, Kate Moss, and designer Kim Jones. Both wore Fendi gowns. While Kate wore a lace and silk slip imagined by Jones, Lila opted for a piece designed by Lagerfeld for the Fendi Fall Winter 2018 collection.
With many fluffy little feathers, this gown is tactile and soft, but with a classic element of Lagerfeld edginess visible in the transparent silk bodice.
Suki Waterhouse
Finally, actress and singer Suki Waterhouse wowed in a contemporary Fendi gown from the Spring 2019 collection, Lagerfeld’s penultimate for the brand.
The gown embodied the designer’s daring yet feminine style, both fully sheer and delicately embroidered. Sheer and lace detailing was seen repeatedly from Lagerfeld in his final years, showing up in the Fall Winter 2019 collection for Fendi, the 2018 collections and the 2016 collections.