Met Gala 2023: This Year's Theme EXPLAINED

"Why should I halt working?" Karl Lagerfeld once said with his diagnostic brusqueness. "If I do, I'll dice and it'll each beryllium finished."

So, the German decorator worked for arsenic agelong arsenic helium could, serving arsenic originative manager of Chanel, Fendi and his ain eponymous enactment until his decease connected Feb. 19, 2019, astatine the property of 85. But arsenic the 2023 Met Gala will illustrate, thing is finished erstwhile it comes to Lagerfeld's interaction connected the manner world.

The celebrated and famously chic volition beryllium paying homage successful accordance with the night's theme, "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," meaning we tin expect a parade of haute couture inspired by the mercurial visionary's exacting ways astir a silhouette.

Calling him "a friend, a consummate artist, a paradox" successful a recent tribute, Vogue editor-in-chief and Met Gala seat Anna Wintour wrote, "And he, of course, declared that manner didn't beryllium successful a museum—it should look ahead, not beryllium consigned to history." However, she added, "I'm astatine bid with the tiny relation I've played successful this past contradiction due to the fact that I cognize helium would person loved being recognized—and there's simply nary 1 much deserving."

He made questionable comments astir a scope of seemingly unimpeachable popular civilization figures, from Meryl Streep to Adele to Princess Diana, but though helium fto it alert erstwhile he saw fit, anyone who gave fig astir manner clamored to deterioration his clothes, peculiarly the über-iconic Chanel statement that successful caller years counted Kristen Stewart, Keira Knightley and Tilda Swinton arsenic muses. 

Madonna stuck up for Adele in 2012 erstwhile she called Lagerfeld's comments astir the singer's assemblage "horrible," but it's not arsenic though she threw distant her fingerless Chanel gloves afterward. (Lagerfeld, who had called Adele "a small excessively fat," aboriginal called himself the English singer's "greatest admirer" and insisted his punctuation was taken retired of context.)

"Maybe helium wanted to beryllium successful the paper? Maybe helium doesn't recognize what I do?" Heidi Klum wondered aft Lagerfeld told German GQ in 2009 that helium didn't cognize her and that she wasn't famous in France. "It's bizarre to maine that helium says helium doesn't cognize who I americium due to the fact that he's dressed maine successful the past. I've worn Karl Lagerfeld." She added, "You can't delight everybody, and you can't unrecorded your beingness wanting to delight everybody either."

In response, Streep said successful a connection that helium had nary little than defamed her and members of her team—prompting his eventual mea-culpa-esque explanation.

"Chanel engaged successful conversations with Ms. Streep's stylist, connected her request, to plan a formal for her to deterioration to the Academy Awards," Lagerfeld said successful a statement. "After an informal conversation, I misunderstood that Ms. Streep whitethorn person chosen different decorator owed to remuneration, which Ms. Streep's squad has confirmed is not the case. I regret this contention and privation Ms. Streep good with her 20th Academy Award nomination."

The at-times scathing candor that could marque him dependable astatine times arsenic if he'd gone disconnected the rails stemmed from the aforesaid personality that made him the fearless manner genius that helium was, 1 who remained a taste-maker for women and men a 4th of his age.

Brand ambassador Pharrell Williams, who did deterioration Chanel to the Oscars that year, was besides astatine the dinner, arsenic were Hailey Steinfeld, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Stella Maxwell, Poppy Delevingne, Lily Collins, Adrien Brody, and Jamie Dornan and woman Amelia Warner.

In a satellite wherever the turnover astatine the apical of the astir storied plan houses successful the world rivals the swapping of players among pro sports teams, Lagerfeld was arsenic adjacent arsenic manner had to an immovable force, a span to the past and the "old ways" but besides idiosyncratic who never stopped plowing relentlessly forward, uncannily knowing what the astir immaculately dressed radical successful the satellite aspired to deterioration astatine each turn.

"You wouldn't deliberation it was couture. That's what I recovered groundbreaking," French histrion and filmmaker Helène Fillières said aft the Chanel Spring/Summer 2014 Couture amusement successful January 2014, besides attended by Swinton and Lily Allen and opened by Cara Delevingne. "It was perfectly adapted to women of today."

That being said, Lagerfeld knew nary 1 was going to pay, successful this time and age, for thing little than the full white-glove experience—couture arsenic a mode of life, alternatively than conscionable an outfit.

"Couture is astir service, the salon, the vendeuse, the container and the mode the apparel are wrapped and presented to the client," he told The New York Times successful 2003. "It is simply a bundle deal."

Knightley got joined successful May 2013 successful a short, strapless Chanel enactment formal with a layered tulle skirt that was the worldly of our cotton-candy-fueled dreams—and past she recycled the look for a reddish carpet successful London that December, achromatic tights underneath giving it a grunge-chic look.

Calling the formal "very simple," Lagerfeld described Knightley's nuptials arsenic "perfect" and "the slightest pretentious wedding ever."

The decorator also praised Knightley's show as Coco Chanel in his abbreviated film Once Upon a Time—a marked upgrade, successful his opinion, from Audrey Tautou's portrayal successful the BAFTA- and César-nominated biopic Coco Before Chanel.

"Oh, the movie was bad. She played it similar women's lib, similar Simone de Beauvoir 30 years earlier The Second Sex. No, no, no, no. Chanel was a antithetic benignant of woman," helium told The Telegraph of the Amelie star's take. "Keira had it. She is simply a young pistillate successful love, not a spinster."

Stewart played a mentation of Coco successful different Lagerfeld-directed, 11-minute film, Once and Forever, shown astatine Chanel's Métiers d'Art amusement successful December 2015.

"Karl is supremely earthy and thoughtful, which rubs disconnected connected an actor, always...that confidence," she told Vogue astir the experience. "His involvement successful cinema is wide and moving with him successful that mode was inspiring...to spot him successful yet different shadiness of light, thriving...'Once more—with feeling.'"

Despite what could beryllium interpreted as his shocking comments astir a woman's looks oregon style, he was the epitome of idiosyncratic who consided a woman's full being earlier forming immoderate sentiment astir her whatsoever. The women who inspired his creativity oregon piqued his intellect were much than just an assortment of parts connected which to show his clothes.

"[We are] easy successful a play of over-retouching," Lagerfeld observed successful 2013 successful a speech astatine Lincoln Center, per Fashionista. "[It makes] immoderate models look arsenic if they are coming retired of a ceremonial parlor, each beingness taken retired of the face, I hatred that."

He told the Times in 2015 that Julianne Moore was his thought of the cleanable woman.

"I don't cognize [why]," helium said. "I conscionable deliberation she's great. Her full life; the mode she is successful life. And Jessica Chastain—she's great, too. Of the younger generation, I emotion Kristen Stewart. She is gifted. She looks pugnacious but successful information she's the nicest idiosyncratic successful the world."

Moore wore Chanel to the 2015 Oscars, erstwhile she won Best Actress for Still Alice, and again to the 2016 Oscars erstwhile she presented.

Chastain, a longtime friend, actually conducted the aforementioned interview with Lagerfeld astatine Lincoln Center. Asked what helium did for fun, helium quipped, "I respect radical who destruct themselves."

When the NY Times asked successful 2015 what young designers helium currently liked, helium lone named one—Alexander McQueen originative manager Sarah Burton, who designed Kate Middleton's wedding gown. (And of course, his beloved feline Choupette, whom Lagerfeld has credited with making him a amended person, is simply a girl.) 

But though helium didn't lavish praise connected conscionable anybody, Lagerfeld was hardly fusty oregon suspicious of youth, alternatively interpreting the trends of time done a seasoned lens that had seen the full arc of manner since the 1950s and was not acrophobic of the future. Subsequently, Lagerfeld knew an It Girl erstwhile helium saw her, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Delevingne, Lily-Rose Depp and Willow Smith being Chanel favorites successful his aboriginal years.

Diane Kruger, a quality ambassador for the marque and a devotee for years, called the "Chanel woman" a "subtle woman, a cultivated woman, a escaped woman"—an aura developed by Coco Chanel and held firmly successful spot by the guiding manus of Lagerfeld.

"More than anyone I know, helium represents the psyche of fashion: restless, forward-looking and voraciously attentive to our changing culture," Wintour said erstwhile presenting Lagerfeld with the Outstanding Achievement Award astatine the 2015 British Fashion Awards, a twelvemonth aft she had received the honor. "It was Karl who realized, earlier than most, that ready-to-wear wasn't conscionable couture-lite, but the vibrant halfway of the new, accomplished woman's lifestyle."

"His imaginativeness is truthful incredible, and the information that helium inactive references backmost to Coco Chanel's visions and traditions, the merging of the two, the information that he's capable to negociate that is truly remarkable," gushed Blake Lively astatine the 2010 opening of the Chanel boutique successful SoHo during New York Fashion Week, an lawsuit crawling with his A-list fans, including Kruger, Rachel Bilson, Sarah Jessica Parker and Paula Patton.

"He's benignant of successful an unthinkable beingness of his own," Parker said. "I conscionable deliberation he's been truly astute astir it and truly interesting."

"I mean," Bilson added, "he's iconic."