This year’s Met Gala theme is ‘Karl Lagerfeld’ & the co-hosts were announced

Oof, the 2023 Met Gala is less than four months away. Prepare yourselves! This year’s gala will be a doozy. At some point, surely, Anna Wintour just has to ask the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to host the gala, right? But it’s not happening this year. This year, the hosts are Dua Lipa, Penelope Cruz, Michaela Coel and… Roger Federer! Wintour is obsessed with Roger. Roger retired from tennis last September, so he has the time to show up in New York and do all of the dinners and press that come with co-hosting the gala.

As for the theme, it could be a tearjerker! The theme is “Karl Lagerfeld,” Wintour’s good friend. Lagerfeld passed away in 2019, and I wondered (in recent years) why they hadn’t devoted a gala theme to his work yet. I guess it took several years to put it together (plus, the pandemic). The actual exhibition will feature Karl’s iconic designs for Chanel, Fendi, Chloe, Balmain and his eponymous brand. The theme is officially “in honor of Karl,” meaning… I think most people will probably just wear vintage Chanel, right? Or will they get designers to create “odes” to Lagerfeld himself, with the fingerless gloves, white coif and black suits? Could be all of the above. Page Six even brought up Lagerfeld’s beloved cat Choupette – do you think anyone will dress up as a fluffy white kitty? Please say that’s what Roger’s doing.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.

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51 Responses to “This year’s Met Gala theme is ‘Karl Lagerfeld’ & the co-hosts were announced”

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  1. Becks1 says:

    Ooooh. This is one where I’m going to be really interested to see what Anna Wintour wears. I bet she has some amazing vintage Chanel in her closet. (or Vogue’s closet.)

    • snappyfish says:

      Bring on the Chanel. The real, designed by Mademoiselle herself. By Karl when he was cosplaying her designs. The gowns, the hats and the beautiful hem weighed down by a chain jackets. As you might imagine, I adore Chanel. The first big purchase I ever made for myself the minute I had a little money. Wear it to this day. I am so excited for a Met Gala Theme I care about. Brava. Bow to The Kaiser.

  2. LooneyTunes says:

    We stay idolizing the worst people.

  3. Tanguerita says:

    Yes, let’s honor one of the most insufferable, bigoted, fatphobic, anti-Semitic assholes that has ever walked this earth, shall we?

    • Nem says:

      Kunty Karl was an awful petty person, racist to the core, and very publicly islamophobic at the end of his life.
      But aren’t you mixing him with coco Chanel about the antisemism, as he was cautious on this subject, the Chanel brand is owned by a jewish family, who had already been dealing with coco hatred and misdeeds against them during nazis France invasion. I don’t think they would have supported another collaborator threatening their life being in charge of their income source.

      • Wilma says:

        He did a lot to cleanse Chanel of its antisemitic history yet had no qualms quoting a German friend saying (after hosting a Syrian refugee for a few weeks) that the Holocaust was one of the best German inventions.

    • Wilma says:

      Anti-muslim too. Yes, such a shitty person to honour with this. Though I am interested to see if there will be people who nod to his awfulness.

      • Nem says:

        Wilma thank you !
        I didn’t know he would dare.This story isn’t retold by journalists and gossip mags in France, they prefer rumors about the battle about his unheritance and sordid details about his relationships with his last gigolo model.
        That b. was protected as this didn’t put him in the galliano like sh*tstorm he deserved. And he was one of the people denouncing galliano the loudest when his scandal broke.
        If i was the wertheimers, i would have been livid.
        You can be sure someone s gonna try to honour his “humour” by whitewashing it as wit…

    • thaisajs says:

      What’s next year, and Ode to Dolce & Gabbana?

    • Suusan says:

      He wasn’t anti-semitic. He seemed to be anti-muslim. I remember it being written somewhere he was jewish and hid his identity. I can’t find it nowadays but his Wikipedia speaks about baptismal records. Could be they lied about him being Jewish so he wouldn’t get critized about his party past. No one talks about that anymore.

  4. Chloe says:

    Maybe i don’t appreciate high fashion enough but this theme is a bit disappointing. I get that Anna wants to honour her friend, i am just not sure this is the stage to do it. I feel like we’ll see people in black suits and dresses and that is it

    • Nem says:

      That’s because karl wasn’t able to found a big fashion house on his own name to provide his own vision.
      unlike Yves Saint Laurent, who was seen as a genius, almost immediatly first to succeed to Dior, then by himself, with pierre bergé to help him.
      Karl was alone, à very gifted kind of Jack of all tirades, Master of none until the wertheimer took him to replace Chanel.
      There is a very good book by Alicia Drake about it, how he was only able to shine once Yves Saint Laurent died, he tried to prevent from being released

  5. AnnaKist says:

    Ha! My first thought was, “Who is going to dress as the fluffy white pussy?” I know, I know… are used that word, but we in Australia just mean “cat”. Maybe the younger ones use it as you do in the US, but no one I know uses it to mean you-know-what.

    Aaaaanyway, Who will dress as a cat? One of the Kar-Jenners? Maybe they will come as a family of fluffy white Choupettes? I don’t usually take much notice of the Met Gala, but this year I might pay close attention, because there is sure to be some hilarity! 😂

    I detested Karl Lagerfeld. He was an absolute cyunt.

    • Swack says:

      My first thought was that Kim would dress up as a cat. Not sure why though!

    • SAS says:

      Definitely Taylor Swift.

      Lol at pussy being generally used for cat here (def among older Aussies). My porn star name is Pussy Harrison because our family pet was just called pussy!

      And co-signed on the Karl hate, not only is the fashion going to be bloody boring, we get to relive his racist, grotesquely fat phobic greatest hits in the lead up coverage I’m sure!

    • SomeChick says:

      My money is on Katy Perry as the cat.

      I’m not thrilled about this theme. Not only was KL a terrible person, I think a lot of his designs were super fug. I groaned when I heard Chanel had hired him and it was worse than I expected when he started putting stuff out. Such a bummer, usually I really enjoy the gala photos

  6. Josephine says:

    The Met Gala used to be fun and now it just feels trashy. This year’s theme just solidifies that it’s time has come and gone.

  7. Noki says:

    I wish Anna Wintour would go back to not inviting talentless influencers and tik tokers. You don’t even see many A Listers anymore. The Kardashians are going to be insufferable.

  8. lanne says:

    Was Karl Lagerfeld problematic? Yes. Should he be still called out for his assholery? yes! Was he very, very important and influential in fashion? Absolutely!

    As we continue our much-needed cultural reckoning with the past, I think it’s important to acknowledge the failings of these fallible peopleas we celebrate their art. I think it’s dangerous to throw out art because the artist doesn’t hold up to 2023 standards. Very, very few artists in fashion, visual arts, or performing arts will pass through that filter. I think it’s possible to celebrate the art while looking realistically at the artist. There’s a lot about KL that’s worth celebrating. There’s also a lot about him that is absolutely worth critiquing. We can do both. It would be nice if the exhibit gives a complete picture of Karl. I have no idea if it will or not. I think that’s what we should call for–make the exhibit objective and not just a praise fest. I’d rather see that than not see Karl’s work discussed at all.

    • Josephine says:

      The Met Gala is not a discussion though. There is no forum to acknowledge how despicable his attutudes were. There are ways to do that, but celebrating him at the Met Gala is not it. And I think you are very seriously downplaying how very awful he was and how he used his hateful opinions to hurt people and careers. He wasn’t some dotty old man — he was a powerful individual whose opinions actievly hurt people. He didn’t die 50 years ago. He lived in modern times and held on to the worst of opinions.

      • lanne says:

        This is a sore subject, and I’m not going to respond again to this thread, but I do believe that the exhibit (which is going to be seen by the public, as opposed to the exclusive party) could include Karl’s controversies. I don’t think it’s possible to do a good Coco Chanel exhibit and not talk about her Nazi links. Or Hugo Boss, or Adidas. Those realities are definitely part of the corporate stories and shouldn’t be ignored. I hope the exhibit at the Met (which I might see if I pass through NYC, while I ain’t going to the Met gala) is really comprehensive–it can be and it should be. I would argue that the exhibit itself should include a full picture of KL, and if it doesn’t then criticize the exhibit for that. I think that’s a better take than not having a KL exhibit at all. But I do understand that people have different POVs, so this isn’t an argument against your position. I’m just hoping for a nuanced, 3D portrayal. I’d rather see public figures who make valuable contributions to their field held to public scrutiny instead of having their contributions ignored or erased.

      • Coco says:

        @ lanne

        While you put on your blinders Karl help contributions to fat phobia, racism, and anti-Semitic.. yes these Contributions he made should not be ignored or erased.

    • MissMarirose says:

      Celebrities don’t want to have that discussion or even acknowledge that side of the industry. Just look at Dolce & Gabbana. They have routinely said and done disgusting racist, misogynist, and homophobic (ironically) things and yet we still see celebrities wearing their frocks on red carpets every single week. Which is particularly strange in light of the fact that Marchesa died a quick death just because Georgina Chapman was married to Weinstein. Unlike Dominico and Stefano, she wasn’t directly responsible for the actions that lead to the boycott of her label.

      • Nem says:

        I agree with you but…. D&G are a fashion juggernaut, marchesa wasn’t.
        That’s why she tanked so hard as she depends on her ex husband greatly and mostly . No actresses or models, or other show biz or fashion greats are fighting to rehabilitate her like they did for galliano.

  9. ML says:

    Choupette’s Instagram is full of cute, fluffy cat pictures. I can just imagine Anna Wintour’s reaction if a bunch of people decide that honoring KL and high fashion means an ode to Choupette🤣
    https://www.instagram.com/choupetteofficiel/?hl=en

  10. Kinmy says:

    Im surprised Kristen Stewart wasnt asked to host given her run with Chanel and Karl at the end.

    • Eleonor says:

      Me too.
      She and Vanessa Paradis have been his muse for years.

      • Nem says:

        Kristen Stewart was a meh muse to Chanel, and was better at Balenciaga during ghesquiere tenure.
        Maybe paradis wants to stay a lil bit in the shadow, after Depp trial mess, and lily rose nepo baby debacle

  11. tamsin says:

    Does the Met Gala not benefit the Met Museum? I can’t see Harry and Meghan “hosting” something like this unless it benefits one of their issues or charities.

  12. Ladykatan says:

    It would have been so much better to make it a tribute to Andre Leon Tally instead. He was also a fashion icon and wasn’t a garbage human being.

    • Nem says:

      it would be lovely to honour his work and vision, but quite ironic as a lot of important fashion people did him wrong.

    • CourtneyB says:

      That would be amazing but will never happen as long as wintour is there.

  13. Kirsten says:

    I LOVE Roger Federer doing this. He’s an amazing tennis player and both he and his wife seem likely lovely people. I’m curious how avant-garde he’ll go with his look.

    • SAS says:

      There’s not a lot of avant-garde Chanel. I’m thinking this is going to be the dullest carpet for years!

  14. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    I’m upset about Julian Sands.

  15. Case says:

    This is a good theme that should be easy for people to stick to, I hope. Good mix of hosts as well! It feels like the Met Gala just happened, can’t believe it’s just four months away already.

  16. Rnot says:

    I hope it’s ALL Choupette.

  17. Jennifer Smith says:

    That numbnut Katy Perry will be the one dressed as a cat, with some batshit emphasis on it being of the “pussy” variety.

  18. Kate says:

    Omg I’m so much more excited now!!