Met Gala Review

BY SOPHIE CAIN

The frst Monday in May might not hold signifcance to everyone, but to those who are fashion or celebrity obsessed, it is the biggest day of the year. This special Monday is when the Met Gala occurs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Founded in 1948 by Eleanor Lambert, it is the biggest day in fashion. Paparazzi and fans countdown the days until they can see their favorite celebrities and designers hit the Met carpet.

Each year, a list of guests, a theme, and the co-chairs are decided upon for the Met Gala. Anna Wintour, the current editor in chief of Vogue, is the mastermind behind the highly exclusive guest list. Wintour has also been a chairwoman of the Met Gala since 1995.

Some iconic and controversial themes have been ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’ (2019), ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’ (2021), ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’ (2018), ‘China: Through the Looking Glass’ (2015), and ‘Christian Dior’ (1996) where Princess Diana famously made an appearance.

This year’s theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. The theme honors Karl Lagerfeld, an icon in the fashion world. His contributions to Chanel and Fendi are only two of the notable achievements from his career. It will be co-chaired by Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, and, of course, Anna Wintour.

Each year, there are conversations of the best and worst dressed of the Met Gala. Sometimes there is a clear design that stands out as the best, and other times it seems like everyone missed the mark. Here are my opinions on the outfts of the 2023 Met Gala:

Best - Doja Cat

Because Karl Lagerfeld was known for loving his cat, Choupette, it was expected to see some cats hit the carpet. Doja Cat seemlessly and elegantly executed an ode to Karl and Choupette. Her makeup was fawless and her dress ft her perfectly.

Worst - Usher

Although Lagerfeld’s personal style tended to include a lot black and diferent shades of gray, he still played around with diferent silhouettes. Usher did not do anything new or innovative with this look. Black suits are acceptable for many events, however men showing up to the Met Gala wearing the same, boring black suit is not acceptable. The Met Gala is meant to explore fashion and make a statement, something that a plain, black suit cannot accomplish.

Karl Lagerfeld was well known for designing for Chanel. Anok Yai drew inspiration from the Chanel spring 1988 collection, and she looked stunning. The unique shape of the dress along with the gorgeous colors complimented her so well. Her glowing skin was eye catching and enhanced the whole look. She defnitely stood out from everyone else.

Anne Hathaway efortlessly honored Lagerfeld with this look. He famously made tweed an intrical part of Chanel’s brand, so it was very on theme for Hathaway to show up in a tweed dress. The cut-outs and safety pins, along with her hair and jewelry really tie this look together. This is the best Met Gala look this year.

Although Karlie Kloss took inspiration directly from a dress Lagerfeld designed, her take on it fell short. The dress fts her well, however it looks cheap. The pearls over the gold print on the dress are confusing and displeasing to the eye. This is defnitely not her worst look at the Meet Gala, but it fell short.

With Karl Lagerfeld being so controversial, many designers and celebrities still paid tribute to him this year. As per usual, some looks exceeded expectations while many fell short. Some honorable mentions for best dressed include Dua Lipa and A$AP Rocky. More worst dressed include Kim Kardashian and Olivia Wilde.

Overall, fashion is art and art does not speak to everyone. Some of my opinions may be controversial, but at the end of the day there is no harm in disecting the Met Gala.