The theme for this year’s Met Gala wasn’t a concept; it was a person. But the organizers’ departure from their usual theming convention wasn’t the most controversial thing about the night.
The real issue is that Karl Lagerfeld, the man they’ve chosen to honor, was also notoriously fatphobic, anti-immigrant, possibly homophobic and, many would say – despite his slew of famous muses – low-key misogynistic.
The late creative director of Chanel, who died in 2019, was a behemoth in the fashion world. Yet his list of accomplishments was almost as long as his list of controversies. He said he was “fed up” with the #MeToo movement and questioned the claims of victims who came forward during that time. “What shocks me most in all of this are the starlets who have taken 20 years to remember what happened,” Lagerfeld told Numero Magazine. “Not to mention the fact there are no prosecution witnesses.”
He also claimed in a 2009 interview that “no one wants to see” plus-size models, and then called Adele “a little too fat” (he later apologized for that one).
“One cannot – even if there are decades between them – kill millions of Jews so you can bring millions of their worst enemies in their place,” Lagerfeld, who was German, said in 2017. He had apparently taken issue with then German chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow Syrian refugees into Germany at the time. “I know someone in Germany who took a young Syrian and after four days said: ‘The greatest thing Germany invented was the Holocaust,’” he added.
Gay marriage and same-sex adoption? Not his favorite things either.
Thankfully, not everyone is gushing about this year’s theme. Back in October when it was first announced, actor Jameela Jamil reminded the public about the designer’s history: “Why is THIS who we celebrate when there are so many AMAZING designers out there who aren’t bigoted white men?” she asked.
The choice to have Lagerfeld front and center at this year’s Met Gala when many of his worst comments happened within very recent memory is a stark reminder of just how little society values the people who are implicated in his bigotry. Women, fat people, migrants fleeing their home countries for their lives, queer people fighting for their civil liberties – all of these people at one time or another fell under the shadow of Lagerfeld’s scorn.
His disdain both mirrored and amplified some of the fashion world’s most toxic ideals, so Lagerfeld’s fashion canonization at the Met Gala seems fitting. But it’s also a night when many of the kinds of people he derided were being asked to pay homage to his legacy. Twisted as it may seem, this contradiction begins to make sense when you consider that Anna Wintour – who chairs the Met Gala and was one of Lagerfeld’s closest friends – has a history of supporting designers who have found themselves ensnared in scandal.
As Rachel Tashjian notes in the Washington Post, Wintour has gone out of her way to champion designers who have been embroiled in the worst of scandals. That list includes John Galliano, Balenciaga designer Demna and Alexander Wang, who was accused in late 2020 of drugging and sexually assaulting several victims. Wang has denied the allegations made against him. Wintour dutifully sat in the front row of his comeback show.
As a society, we’ve come to accept (and by consequence expect) bad behavior from our celebrities. And in some ways, these industries select for the big-headed, eccentric, necessarily imperious types like Lagerfeld – we enjoy their antics, and their stories make for great biopics and delicious memoirs. Still, it’s important to note how our acceptance of their “quirks” is inextricably linked to our unwillingness to truly contend with the harm they do.
Because really, what does it say about us that the most important artistic institutions continue to not only accept, but uplift and valorize these kinds of people? Why should the cultural contributions of a powerful few be considered more important than vulnerable people’s humanity? Why are we so willing to sacrifice everyday people at the altar of our devotion to celebrity?
Speaking on the red carpet at the gala, Wintour told the New York Times that she hoped Lagerfeld “would understand how many people love and respect him” by paying homage to him. And that seems to be the answer. For the wealthy and powerful, the goal is to focus on the people who love you, and ignore the ones you’ve hurt. After all, you’ll be called a hero anyway.
Tayo Bero is a Guardian US columnist
