At Met Gala, a tribute to Karl Lagerfeld

By New York Times

NEW YORK – Officially, it’s the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute benefit, a black-tie extravaganza held the first Monday in May to raise money for the museum’s fashion wing. Unofficially, it’s the party of the year, the Oscars of the East Coast and “an ATM for the Met” (the last according to publicist Paul Wilmot). To understand the latter, consider that last year’s event raised $17.4 million.

The party signals the opening of the Costume Institute’s annual blockbuster show, and the party is usually themed to the exhibition. This year’s show is “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” an homage to the imagination and creativity of Lagerfeld, the longtime designer of Chanel, Fendi and his own line, who died in 2019 and helped shape (pun intended) not just the modern wardrobe, but the modern fashion world.

Guests were instructed to – surprise – dress “in honor of Karl.” And that meant a lot of Chanel, Fendi and Lagerfeld, as well as Chloé, Balmain and Patou (where Lagerfeld worked early in his career).