Met Gala 2023: What to expect as stars pay tribute to controversial fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld | CBC News

The worlds of fashion, celebrity, music, business and sports will collide tonight at the 2023 Met Gala, where attendees pay tribute to late German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.

Considered one of the most extravagant annual events in the entertainment industry, the Met Gala is a yearly fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

Guests are expected to dress in theme with the museum’s yearly exhibit. This year’s theme, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, pays tribute to an industry legend with a complicated legacy.

Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, was celebrated for his contributions to fashion. In addition to his own eponymous couture line, he was the creative director of French fashion house Chanel and of Fendi, the Italian fur and leather luxury line.

He has long been criticized for making remarks that were sexist, racist and fatphobic in nature. Lagerfeld criticized the #MeToo movement and made derogatory comments about plus-sized models on several occasions.

As such, the theme has invited backlash, including from the Met Gala’s social media team, which has opted not to live-tweet this year’s proceedings in protest.

Guests who dress on theme might choose designs inspired by Lagerfeld’s collection, as well as pieces from Chanel or Fendi. They might also replicate his own signature style: a shock of white hair, high collars, sunglasses and fingerless gloves.

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour co-chaired this year’s event, as she has since the 1990s. Her co-chairs this year are Oscar winning actor Penélope Cruz, Ghanaian-British actor and writer Michaela Coel, tennis star Roger Federer and pop singer Dua Lipa.