Every year, on the first Monday in May, the brightest stars fill the glamorous steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to show off some of the most opulent outfits that spectators have ever seen to raise money for the museum’s Costume Institute. From bizarrely-shaped costumes, to eccentric hosts, to controversial, historical dresses being worn, the Met Gala has always been a spectacle that would become the talk of the entire internet for the first week of May. However, it is safe to say that in the last several years, there has been a decline in spectators that actually take the exclusive fashion event seriously. Part of it is attributed to the fact that the event doesn’t really seem to be that exclusive anymore, given that an ever-increasing number of influencers are being invited and not seeming to really appreciate what they are taking part in. The decrease has also been cause by the lack of seriousness taken by attendees when it comes to matching the theme or even understanding it fully.
The 2022 Met Gala theme was “Gilded Glamour”. The theme was meant to highlight fashion and influence of the gilded age, but many attendees fell short of the theme, some even more so than others. For example, Kim Kardashian arrived on the carpet wearing Marilyn Monroe’s infamous “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress, which sparked major backlash online, given that the dress is technically a historic artifact, and was notably damaged at the end of the night. But one of the main questions that people had was simply, “Why?”. The dress had no connection to the theme, and Kardashian herself never really gave a clear answer on how she thought it was correlated. Men arrive on the carpet wearing nothing but the same dark suits over and over again, with little imagination and enthusiasm. It has made the event far less exciting to watch. But, has the 2023 Met Gala come to save the event’s once illustrious reputation?
The 2023 Met Gala theme was entitled “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”, which paid tribute to the late fashion designer and his decades of work. While the aptness of the theme was largely debated, given Lagerfeld’s history of controversial comments, the event was meant to focus solely on his craft, and the legacy that it left. Co-chairs Dua Lipa and Penelope Cruz were the first to step out onto the carpet, both referencing Lagerfeld’s famous bridal looks. Dua Lipa even wore an actual bridal look that Lagerfeld had designer for supermodel Claudia Schiffer for Chanel’s Fall/Winter 1992 collection. Stars came out wearing outfits that referenced famous work by Lagerfeld, and even his beloved cat, Choupette. The looks this year were most interesting mostly because it appeared that everyone had a personal anecdote with Lagerfeld that influenced their outfit choice. Almost every person interviewed knew the designer in one way or another and subsequently knew how to honor his work in their own way.
With the success of the 2023 Met Gala, hope has returned that each year will bring new and exciting themes that attendees get to be their most creative selves in to honor fashion’s biggest night.
