Met Gala theme reveals ignorance within the fashion community

Alana Frank
Photo Editor

The annual Met Gala hosted earlier this May at the Metropolitan Museum in New York
celebrated the late Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of Chanel. While this event highlighted
Lagerfeld’s achievements on the runway and for the Chanel brand, his previous actions, beliefs
and comments outweigh these achievements. The theme of Karl Lagerfeld showcases the
ignorance of the fashion industry and negligence of serious topics within the community such as
sexism, sizeism, and homophobia.

According to the New York Times, Lagerfeld told many critics throughout his career that
all of his comments were jokes. However, Lagerfeld has openly made statements against gay
marriage, sexual assault survivors, pluz-size models, and even immigrants.

According to the Associated Press, Lagerfeld stated that “no one wants to see curvy
women’’ and that he was “less keen” on same-sex couples adopting children, reflecting
Lagerfeld’s judgment toward different kinds of groups and minorities.

While many sources such as the New York Times argue that Lagerfeld made the majority of his
comments in the 1980s and 1990s when beauty standards and societal values were different,
Lagerfeld continued to express his problematic opinions concerning immigration and
harassment until his death in 2019.

According to the New York Times, Lagerfeld said that he was “fed up” with the #MeToo
Movement, started in 2017 to raise awareness around sexual harassment and workplace
abuse. According to The Guardian, Lagerfeld criticized the then-German Chancellor Angela
Merkel’s decision to grant Syrian refugees shelter in 2017.

Despite his beliefs, there is no doubt that Karl Lagerfeld revolutionized multiple fashion
brands and took Chanel to fame. According to Vogue magazine, Lagerfeld produced more than
100 collections with both Fendi and Chanel and was the first designer to launch a perfume
brand.

Unfortunately, Lagerfeld’s list of atrocities is still much longer than his list of achievements.
Choosing Lagerfeld as the theme of this Met Gala reflects poorly on Vogue and the fashion
community in general due to his disparaging and biased views.

With many condemning the theme of Karl Lagerfeld on Twitter and by choosing to not
attend the gala, the vast majority of people sadly look past his actions and only see the positive
influence he had. Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue and head of the Met Gala, was very
close friends with Lagerfeld and called him the “living soul of fashion,” according to the
Associated Press, which reflects the negligence of the fashion industry due to her dismissal of
his past behavior.

Luckily, many celebrities in addition to the general public have recognized Lagerfeld’s
history and condemned the theme. According to the Associated Press, activist and actress
Jameela Jamil, known for her role on the NBC show the “Good Place,” took to Instagram to express her outrage over celebrating Lagerfeld when there are plenty of other adequate
themes.

Furthermore, the High Fashion Twitter Met Gala, the event’s online counterpart,
announced that it will not celebrate this year’s Met Gala due to Lagerfeld’s values, showing that
not everyone is ignorant of his past.

Lagerfeld’s brand is set to be acquired in full by G-III apparel for $210 million. However, recent
investments in his brand, fueled by his recent increase in exposure from the Met Gala, may be
risky.

According to CNBC, the debt-to-equity ratio of G-III is at 0.44. The riskiness of recent
investments in Lagerfeld’s brands demonstrates that the recent attention he has received has
not only amplified his discriminatory comments, but could put investors in his stock at significant
financial risk.

While Lagerfeld’s contributions to the fashion world had undoubtedly significance, they
do not overshadow his propagation of hate speech and discriminatory policies. The choice to
hold a Met Gala themed after Lagerfeld’s achievements grossly undervalues the bigoted and
discriminatory ideas that he supports.

Additionally, the increased attention brought to Lagerfeld’s work by the Met Gala theme
allows him to accrue even more wealth. According to resale company Vestiaire, sales of
Lagerfeld’s brand-name products have increased by 48% since the Met Gala. Even though
Lagerfeld’s bigoted views are widely recognized by the global fashion community, the increase
in attention toward him and his brand has benefited his assets significantly.

Choosing to celebrate Karl Lagerfeld’s achievements by making him this year’s Met Gala
theme and ignoring his disturbing values demonstrates how the fashion industry has taken little
steps to condemn public disdain for marginalized groups. The Metropolitan Museum, one of the
most prestigious artistic institutions, should not be uplifting these judgmental beliefs and placing
Lagerfeld on a pedestal. Karl Lagerfeld’s success does not dismiss his advocacy of toxic ideals.