2023 Met Gala Preview: Karl Lagerfeld's Red Carpet Designs

Tonight is the 2023 Met Gala, one of the wildest fashion events of the year. Recent themes have included  "Camp: Notes on Fashion" to "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination" to "In America: An Anthology of Fashion," but this year's theme is a tribute to a single designer: "Karl Lagerfeld: A Design of Beauty."

Although Karl Lagerfeld is a name (and visual image) with which I am familiar, I was less familiar with his style and couldn't immediately bring to mind any specific gowns he had designed. So I did a little research to get an idea of what we might expect to see on tonight's red carpet. So here is a brief history of some of Lagerfeld's most famous red carpet designs, along with a little background on the man himself. 

You may recognize the man even if you don't know his designs. His signature look included snow-white hair swept into a short ponytail, dark sunglasses, black suits, tall white detachable shirt collars, and often fingerless gloves. Born in Germany in 1933 (although he frequently claimed to have been born 5 or 6 years later), Lagerfeld submitted dress and coat designs to several fashion competitions in the mid-1950s, and worked for several designers in the late 1950s, submitting freelance designs into the early 1960s. In 1967, he began working for Italian fur designer Fendi, a connection that would last throughout his life. During the 1970s, he was most well-known for his freelance designs for the French fashion house Chloe, becoming one of the most influential designers in the world, along with Yves Saint Laurent. In the 1980s, he was instrumental in that decade's iconic look of big shoulder pads, severe suits, stiff peplums, and stiletto heels.  

In 1983, Lagerfeld took over as creative director of French fashion house Chanel, which had been struggling since the death of founder Coco Chanel in 1971, bringing it back to prominence with ready-to-wear lines, and changing their signature silhouette by adding shoulder pads, shortening and slimming skirts, and adding height to heels. In 1984, he began his own Karl Lagerfeld brand. 

In addition to fashion design, his accomplishments included art photography, political caricatures, voicing a character in an animated film, directing a short film, interior design, and sculpture. 

Here are some of his most well-known designs.

Designed for Chloe in 1981, this black-and-gold guitar-inspired dress was worn to the 2013 opening of a Barney's Department Store by Chloe Sevigny (top). Other dresses in the collection featured more realistic, less stylized guitars (below).  

Everything about this striking black-and-white-striped suit from Chloe's spring-summer ready-to-wear collection in 1981 is larger than life: the belt, the lapels, the shoulder pads, and the hat. I especially love the piano key necklace and bracelet. 

Although worn as "vintage" by Bella Hadid at the 2022 Gala in Cannes, this fabulous ruffled dress with puffy sleeves is from one of Lagerfeld's Chanel collections from the 1980s. 

Part of Chanel's 1992 spring haute couture collection, this black column overlaid with gold chains and enameled rosettes was originally worn on the runway in 1992 by Christy Turlington (top), by Penelope Cruz in the 2009 film Broken Embraces (center), and by Lily-Rose Depp at the 2019 Met Gala (bottom). 

 

The late 1990s marked the beginning of the era of celebrities wearing gowns by European designers on the red carpet, such as Uma Thurman's ivory satin two-piece gown at the 1999 Vanity Fair Oscars party (top). The runway original (bottom) was shown in pink with a slightly different style top.  

Jennifer Lopez caused a bit of a scandal on the Oscars red carpet in 2001 in this asymmetrical silver Chanel gown with its semi-translucent bodice. Lagerfeld was never afraid of causing a little sartorial scandal (nor was J-Lo)!

Nicole Kidman began her red carpet reign at the 2004 Oscars, wearing a strapless silvery-blue satin Chanel gown with feather trim, the first of many Chanel gowns she would wear designed by Lagerfeld. 

One of Lagerfeld's celebrity "muses," Vanessa Paradis wore this 1920s-inspired gown to the 2005 Met Gala. (It would be interesting if we were to see it there again this year...perhaps worn by another of Lagerfeld's muses, Paradis' daughter, Lily-Rose Depp?)

Kirsten Dunst outshone many of the nominees as a presenter at the 2007 Oscars wearing this magnificent silver gown with sheer panels and feather accents. 

Despite Lagerfeld's description of one of Madonna's outfits as making her look like "a housewife," and stating that she had "no style," she still wore this fringed black-and-silver cold-shoulder Chanel gown that he designed to the Cannes Film Festival in 2008. No housewives here!

Lagerfeld designed this custom gown for Lady Gaga for a 2011 Barney's Department Store opening. It combined Gaga's outré esthetic with Chanel's ladylike elegance.

A longtime fan of Chanel, Blake Lively wore this Grecian-inspired gown with metallic underdress and chiffon drape to the 2011 Met Gala. 

Anne Hathaway cut a striking figure in this sleek white strapless two-piece Chanel gown at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards. 

Rihanna is another celebrity who frequently wears Lagerfeld's designs, in the top photo a long Chanel sweater with ropes of pearls worn to the 2013 Chanel couture show, and in the bottom photo a sequined dress with pink Fendi fur worn to a 2015 Fendi boutique opening.

Keira Knightley was the "face" of the Coco Mademoiselle fragrance line by Chanel from 2007 until early 2023, so it's not surprising that she frequently wears Lagerfeld's Chanel designs, including this colorful beaded and beflowered gown that she wore to the 2014 Serpentine Gallery summer party.  

A long-time music fan, Lagerfeld enjoying dressing singers ranging from small indie bands to pop princesses like Gwen Stefani, shown here at the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscars party in a Chanel haute couture gown.

Despite Chanel's many appearances on the Oscars red carpet, Julianne Moore is (thus far) the only one to win Best Actress wearing Chanel, which she did in 2015 in this sleek white lace Lagerfeld creation. 

Yet another Lagerfeld muse, Diane Kruger wore an updated version of Moore's Oscar gown above (and Hathaway's 2013 Golden Globes look) to the 2015 Met Gala. It combined a sleeveless, hip-length beaded top with slim-fitting lace pants and a blush pink hip-level sash that trailed to the floor. Classic yet still cutting edge. 

Lagerfeld didn't only design in black and white, as demonstrated by Brie Larson's lovely golden gown worn at the 2017 Met Gala - perhaps another gown we could see again tonight?

Lagerfeld's trademark angled lines, lace, and beading were apparent in Margot Robbie's striking white dress with sheer overlay at the 2018 premiere of Mary Queen of Scots. 

An example of Lagerfeld's designs for Fendi, Lisa Bonet wore this lavender satin and sheer lace gown to the 2019 Oscars. It was from the final collection that he designed for Fendi. 

So here are my predictions for what we'll see tonight: Lots of black and white, perhaps some repeats of Lagerfeld designs from past Met Galas, angled lines, feathered hems, sleek silhouettes, perhaps some feminine suits and pants, lace and beading, and lots and lots of glamour!

Tune in to tomorrow's blog to find out if I was right!