Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty

On the first Monday in May, celebrities gathered to attend The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual Costume Institute Benefit, more commonly known at The Met Gala. This year’s event, co-chaired by Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, and Anna Wintour, celebrated the newly opened Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty exhibition at The Met, which explores the extraordinary career of the legendary designer, and partygoers dressed to theme. Anne Hathaway channeled the designer’s ’90s muses in a custom Versace dress adorned with Swarovski crystals, while Nicole Kidman wore a Chanel gown designed by Lagerfeld himself for the Haute Couture collection in 2004.

The exhibition is a comprehensive look at Lagerfeld’s career over the decades through a theoretical framework inspired by William Hogarth’s book The Analysis of Beauty-specifically, his concept of serpentine lines representing liveliness, and straight lines symbolizing inactivity. Lagerfeld took inspiration from both the straight and serpentine lines in equal measure. “The exhibition [explores] Lagerfeld’s complex working methodology, tracing the evolution of his fashions from the two dimensional to the three dimensional. The fluid lines of his sketches found expression in recurring themes in his fashions, uniting his designs for Chanel, Chloé, Fendi, his eponymous label, Karl Lagerfeld, and Patou, creating a diverse and prolific body of work unparalleled in the history of fashion,” explained Andrew Bolton, The Costume Institute’s Wendy Yu Curator in Charge.

The museum describes the exhibition as a “thematic and conceptual essay about Lagerfeld’s work” rather than a traditional retrospective. The exhibition opens with introductory galleries that dive into the early years of Lagerfeld’s career, including his time spent as a design assistant (and later apprentice) for Balmain and his days as artistic director of Patou, where he continued to refine his unique style of sketching his primary mode of creative expression and communication. While many designers use multiple sketches, Lagerfeld’s practice utilized one meticulous sketch that would allow the dressmakers to craft his vision to perfection. Anchoring the exhibit is a portrait of the desk that Lagerfeld would sketch on. The adjacent introductory gallery focuses on the premières d’atelier—the seamstresses responsible for materializing his visions, translating his two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional garments. The rest of the exhibition focuses on the differences between the two types of lines that represent conceptual expressions within Lagerfeld’s sketches, and how these two lines are consistently dueling against each other in his work. The straight line signifies Lagerfeld’s minimalist side and the serpentine line represents his romantic and decorative tendencies. These two lines are further divided into nine “sublines” that display conceptual dualities showcased in Lagerfeld’s designs for Chanel, Chloé, Fendi, and his eponymous brand. For exam- ple, feminine competes with masculine, while romantic contradicts military. These dualities are united by “figuartive explosions,” as Bolton put it, or garments that represent moments of convergence, uniting the opposing concepts.

Like Coco Chanel, Lagerfeld was superstitious and loved numbers. Galleries in the exhibit align with the nine sublines seen in Lagerfeld’s sketches. The nine sublines represent September—Lagerfeld’s birth month—and the 10th concluding gallery, featuring a satirical line, represents the day he was born. Additionally, there are seven dresses for each duality (his lucky number). The methodology implemented throughout the galleries educates viewers-there’s truly a story behind every detail. Even the mannequins displayed throughout are based on figurines that Karl collected, recreated with a porcelain finish.

On display through July 16th, the exhibition is a must-visit. “Karl Lagerfeld was one of the most captivating, prolific, and recognizable forces in fashion and culture, known as much for his extraordinary designs and tireless creative output as for his legendary persona. This immersive exhibition [unpacks] his singular artistic practice, inviting the public to experience an essential part of Lagerfeld’s boundless imagination and passion for innovation.” ◆

In 1856, Thomas Burberry developed the principle that a garment should protect people from the British climate. Born and raised in the British countryside, Burberry always loved the outdoors and sought to invent a weather resistant fabric that could withstand conditions of all types. Rainwear in the 19th century was heavy and uncomfortable. Burberry wanted freedom of movement and elegance, which led him to create gabardine, a lightweight and breathable fabric specifically resistant to rain and wind. The fabric was patented in 1888 and later recognized as the “Burberry.” The Burberry was meant to be worn in all different climates and terrain. With this, Burberry began designing smocks for clients that worked in agriculture, later dressing explorers, pioneers, and aviators. “The Burberry trench was not born - rather, it grew, developed slowly, its unique geography defined through lived experience,” stated fashion journalist Alexander Fury.

Burberry’s son, Arthur Michael, traveled to London to transform his father’s invention into a business, “Thomas Burberry & Sons,” branding the gabardine fabric as the iconic trench coat. During the First World War, the trench coat was born specifically for military and British armed officers. Its functional design and lightweight fabric were engineered for fluid movement. The family business provided clothing not only for military personnel, but also kings, queens, and royalty. Thomas Burberry revolutionized the trench coat as an investment staple that survived even during the Great Depression. The company had repeat customers that praised the classic yet functional garment, selling over 20,000 coats in just the Haymarket store. “We’re a nation notorious for our rain, so of course a firm that specialized in rainwear would excel,” noted London College of Fashion professor Amy de la Haye.

The Burberry Classic Check Cashmere Scarf; the iconic Burberry Check is woven at the Burberry Mill in Yorkshire, England (inset). Opposite page, counterclockwise from above: Burberry trench coats are made in Yorkshire, England by an expert team; Burberry was worn to explore the great outdoors – both near and far – as shown in this early 20th century illustration; Flying Officer Arthur Clouston and Betty Kirby-Green in The Burberry plane, 1937; behind the scenes image of Stella Tennant and Andrea Boccaletti during the Burberry Spring/Summer 1999 campaign.

Countercloskwise from right: Stella Tennant in the Spring/ Summer 2019 campaign; Adwoa Aboah and her family in Ghana in the Autumn/Winter 2018 PreCollection campaign; Jermaine Ampomah in the Autumn 2017 campaign; the Burberry Rainbow Check, Autumn/Winter 2018. Opposite page: Gabardine trench gown, Autumn/Winter 2022 runway collection.

In the 1920s, the signature Burberry check was introduced to each coat as a lining, which became the iconic symbol for the brand. As the buzz around the trench coat sustained through periods of financial hardship and war, the company continued to run as a family business for three decades. The trench coat was reconfigured into dresses and capes while the historic check design was wrapped around umbrellas and suitcases. “The past two decades have solidified Burberry’s position as a heritage brand that remains on the cutting edge of fashion and culture,” observed Edward Enninful OBE, Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue With over 500 stores around the world, Burberry became the first brand to make runway collections available to purchase directly after the show. In Assouline’s latest book on the renowned global brand, fashion journalist Alexander Fury covers the history and evolution of the classic and functional trench coat with over 200 illustrations and quotes from notable customers. “Burberry is a British institution and has been since it started in 1856,” English supermodel Naomi Campbell declared. ◆