The Met Gala, an annual fundraiser that showcases high fashion and luxury brands, is an event that is important to anyone interested in fashion. This year’s theme, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”, was inspired by the late Karl Lagerfeld, a revolutionary yet problematic fashion designer. Lagerfeld was a notoriously disrespectful person who constantly made homophobic, racist, fatphobic, and misogynistic comments. The homage to Lagerfeld was criticized, and some think that a Met Gala based on him was insensitive towards the LGBTQIA+, plus size community, and minorities Karl Lagerfeld had publicly disrespected. Although Karl Lagerfeld has a lot of controversy surrounding him and his views, his innovations are forever remembered in fashion. Therefore, we should be celebrating the art instead of the artist. 

At a young age, Karl Lagerfeld caught the attention of Pierre Balmain, Jean Patou, Valentino Garavani, and more recognizable designers. He modernized the brands he designed for by using new materials like fur and animal skins in high fashion. His work as a creative director for Chanel transformed the brand into the modern luxury fashion house everyone has heard of. He revived labels such as Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, and more, making him a prominent name in fashion.

Apart from all his work in the fashion industry, Lagerfeld was known for making hurtful comments about essentially all people who were not white, blonde models who wore a size 00. In 2009, to Focus Magazine, he said, “These are fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television, saying that thin models are ugly,” He also insulted the British royal family, calling Princess Diana “stupid,” and Pippa Middleton ugly. He then said he was “fed up,” with the #MeToo movement, an awareness movement in which people publicized their experiences with sexual abuse. Lagerfeld called singer Adele “a little too fat” and said that no one wanted to see plus-size models and women. In 2017, when German chancellor Angela Merkel allowed Jewish refugees from Syria into Germany, Lagerfeld had much to say. “I know someone in Germany who took a young Syrian and after four days said: ‘The greatest thing Germany invented was the Holocaust,'” he said.

While Karl Lagerfeld’s views were tone-deaf, ignorant, and deserving of backlash, the Met Gala theme honored his role in the fashion world. His creations and modernization of couture should be remembered. Without his work, the most well-known brands worldwide would not be as recognizable as they are. In this case, we should separate the art from the artist- hold Karl Lagerfeld accountable for his actions, but appreciate the art he made.

The 2023 Met Gala theme is rumored to be the reason why so many celebrities opted to not attend this year’s Met Gala. Media outlets and social media influencers also opted out of covering this year’s Met Gala once the theme of Karl Lagerfeld was announced. So why are so many people boycotting the Met Gala?
Karl Lagerfeld was the chief artistic director at Chanel for a couple of decades and had worked for brands like Fendi, Chloé, and Valentino. While his dedication to the world of fashion did leave a lasting impression, many people are reluctant to support Karl due to his many controversial views. He is notoriously fatphobic, misogynistic, racist, anti-immigrant, and homophobic.

His many comments and tone-death runway themes caused many to associate his views with the fashion itself, making it difficult to separate the art from the artist. The High Fashion Twitter Met Gala team announced that they would be canceling their digital companion event to the Met Gala. The team tweeted why they would not be celebrating the Met Gala stating, “As we approach the first Monday of May, the twitter met gala team would like to announce that we will not be celebrating this year’s met gala as our values don’t align with the selection of Karl Lagerfeld as the theme”.

The coordinator of the team went on to further say that the decision to boycott the event was a hard decision, but was ultimately made since majority of the team are part of the communities Karl targeted and they refused to glorify his actions.Many see the theme as a coverup to try to rewrite his legacy. The Met Gala is not only sponsored by Karl’s former fashion house, but is also hosted by his longtime friend Anna Wintor. The author of Anna: The Biograph, Amy Odell, stated that, “This is an industry that is built on elitism and illusion and people don’t want to acknowledge fault lines,” and “It’s uncomfortable to talk about these things and that makes people not want to buy into the fantasy that is fashion.”

Odell thinks that Chanel and Anna Wintor are trying to uphold their personal brand by promoting Karl as a positive figure and intentionally withholding the negatives of his influence. Emily Kirkpatrick, editor and writer for the newsletter I<3 Mess has a similar issue with the glorification of Karl Legerfeld through the Met Gala theme. “It’s easier for us to consume pretty things without reckoning with the horrible story behind them,” stated Kirkpatrick.” She says that old Chanel shows should be viewed as warning signs, “You’re welcome to enjoy this fashion and to appreciate the beauty. But just so you know, this guy probably hated you if you are not a white, size 00 model.

He was not working for you. He was not making clothes for you.” Kirkpatrick views that the selection of their years Met Gala theme proves that fashion is ultimately run to sell products and not to uphold the people using the product.
Ultimately, the legacy of Karl Legerfeld is one of high influence and controversy.

The announcement of the theme being to uphold his legacy is what made many people back out of the Met Gala. Since Karl included so many of his personal views into his work, separating the art from the artist is not possible in this case. The boycott of the Met Gala signifies the stand against letting powerful people get away with misconduct and shows how Karl’s influence over the fashion industry will not overshadow the fact that his art portrays his personal views.