Senior Editor James R. Sanders covers fashion’s biggest night as it’s czar gets his just do
Fashion hasn’t forgotten, and they aren’t choosing to ignore it.
What Karl Lagerfeld did for Chanel was ALMOST as profound as what its founder did for her namesake label. An exhibit of his achievements and a Met Gala theme, needed to happen.
Pre-body positivity, Black Lives Matter, cancel culture, and every other watchdog feed working in conjunction with social media to take down those who used to run amok during the “good ole’ days,” we wouldn’t be talking about why what someone said should have anything to do with their brilliance.
But it does. And should. And will.
Being born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1933, Lagerfeld’s parental circumstance was unavoidable. His father was a member of the Nazi organization.
Fashion icon Andre Leon Talley (who was fired from Vogue, and never got he exhibit he deserved), wrote in his memoir, The Chiffon Trenches, that Lagerfeld’s mother used to tie him up as a child to stop him from snacking. It should be noted that Talley used to curate fashion exhibits with Diana Vreeland (arguably the most gifted fashion editor of all time) at the start of his career.
As an adult, Lagerfeld’s comments about plus size women were perhaps a manifestation of that angst.
Either way, his work at Patou, Balmain, Fendi, and of course Chanel (and his own namesake brand) all are a journey of self-discovery leading up to his death at the age of 86 in 2019. The theme of tonight’s gala is simply, “In Honor of Karl.”
American Vogue’s EIC (and Conde Nast’s Global Creative Director) had been pushing for a Lagerfeld exhibit for years. What’s interesting, though, is this year’s theme — one of the most loose and open to translation.
Because of Karl’s resume, it gives the attendees a lot to play with. Let’s take a closer look:
Trends
One trend that was noticeably minimal in terms of presence, was tweed. New York is certainly having a cold transition into May and as heavy as tweed is, any of the attendees could have gotten away with layering. With tweed being a quintessential Chanel mainstay, the things Karl did with it, was innovative.
Black and White
It comes as no surprise that black and white was everywhere. The colorful carpet with the embellishments made a perfect canvas for both colors. By now, the lighting crews have mastered how to properly handle production to capture the detail of the embellishments on the garments.
Royal Blue and Kingly Red
Primary colors were big for Karl and served as a major pop tonight on the carpet. Designers were inspired and attendees, especially the Hip Hop community gave what needed to be given in a big way. At the time of Lagerfeld’s passing, his influence on Hip Hop was widely reported including here.
Fringe and Layers of Pearls
Jewelry was used as a means of empowerment in fashion and no one understood that more than Karl. There was a lot of hardware on dresses and suits tonight on the carpet. Here are a few standouts.
