Fashion’s biggest night is smizing toward the runway. The Met Gala is a stage for our most in-demand celebrities, TikTokers, and people willing to pay a million American dollars for a table at the combined fundraising event and launch of the Metropolitan Museum’s annual Fashion Institute exhibition. At galas past, we were blessed with a Versace-clad Chadwick Boseman dressed like a fly pope, Rihanna in a gilded headpiece and fur robe, and Zendaya in a literal dress of armor. As for moments completely unrelated to fashion, there was that time Timothée Chalamet was shooting his shot with Keke Palmer or when Frank Ocean’s plus-one was a little freak (a fluorescent-green baby doll with creepy eyes). Below is everything we know about this year’s Karl Lagerfeld–inspired, Kardashian-free event.
What’s the theme?
The late Karl Lagerfeld — who worked with major fashion houses throughout his acclaimed career — will be the theme of this year’s event and the subject of the corresponding Costume Institute exhibition, giving celebrity stylists yet another chance to scour the globe for the most off-theme, eyebrow-raising, or spooky archival looks — perhaps Kim Kardashian will find another dead person’s dress? Considering the acclaimed designer’s feelings about fashion in museums, the choice might have taken him by surprise in life and could even rattle him in death.
“Karl never tired of telling me that fashion did not belong in a museum,†Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s Wendy Yu Curator in Charge, told Vogue in September. “When we worked on the Chanel show together, he was incredibly generous in what he lent, but he was completely disinterested in the exhibition itself! He would say, ‘Fashion is not art — fashion belongs on the street, on women’s bodies, on men’s bodies.’†Well, Karl, the Met begs to differ. His body of work is so influential and substantive — from his own line to his posts at Balmain, Patou, Chloé, Fendi, and Chanel — that the museum is putting it on display anyway in “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.†Lagerfeld’s sketches will anchor the exhibition, according to reports. Hopefully, he can send some of these sketches around to the Met Gala guest list.
Fingers crossed our storied guests opt for archival pulls that aren’t snatching famous dresses from deceased icons.
Who’s co-chairing the Gala?
Four celebrities have been named 2023 Met Gala co-chairs after presumably passing Anna Wintour’s vibe check. I May Destroy You director, actor, and producer Michaela Coel — who recently made her Marvel debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — will chair the fashion extravaganza alongside Oscar-winning actor Penélope Cruz, pop star Dua Lipa, tennis champion Roger Federer, and, as always, Wintour herself.Â
Though not technically a co-chair, the indisputable guest of honor to this year’s Gala is Choupette, the late Lagerfeld’s beloved Burmese cat. Kim Kardashian spent some time with Choupette in Paris ahead of the Met Gala (perhaps trying to gain the cat’s approval). “She’s peaceful, funny, fun, graceful, she’s pretty to look at, and she has a great gait,†Lagerfeld told Numéro magazine in 2016. “But her main quality is that she doesn’t speak. It was love at first sight.†Choupette is considered one of Lagerfeld’s only living relatives — in fact, the cat reportedly inherited a small fortune from Lagerfeld upon his death.
Who’s hosting the livestream?
Because the actual Met Gala — as in, the combined ceremony and fundraising event — happens behind closed doors and on social-media feeds, the Vogue-produced livestream is one of the few official ways plebes like us can get a glimpse of the sartorial choices on the red carpet. SNL’s impersonator extraordinaire Chloe Fineman will be joined by La La Anthony of The Chi and Power to shepherd the proceedings alongside fashion journalist and socialite Derek Blasberg. Emma Chamberlain will also hop back into her hosting duties after doing the job last year (and going viral for her awkwardly flirtatious interview with Jack Harlow). We’ll see if bringing back Chamberlain is another viral moment made.
How and when can I watch the livestream?
If you’re planning to judge this year’s lewks in real time, make sure you’re ready by 6:30 p.m. ET, when the red carpet will start broadcasting live on Vogue’s website, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
This post has been updated.