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.