#NewsBytesExplainer: Why this year's Met Gala theme is under scanner
The most prestigious global fashion event, the Met Gala, is set to take place on Monday in New York City and is expected to be attended by the who's who of world cinema. Alia Bhatt will be making her Met debut, too. This year, the theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, but it has drawn its fair share of criticism. Why's that?
But who was Lagerfeld, what's his prominence in fashion?
Lagerfeld was a German fashion designer best known for being the creative director of fashion giant Chanel. He held this position from 1983 until his death in 2019 at the age of 85. His fashion was said to be deeply related to European culture, and he "brought life back" into Chanel by "highly revamping it." Prior to his hiring, Chanel was reportedly considered "near-dead."
Lagerfeld's many controversies in nutshell
Although Lagerfeld had a thriving professional life and is considered one of the most consequential figures of the contemporary fashion era, his life was entangled in controversies, and he was deemed misogynistic, fatphobic, and racist. He once reportedly criticized Germany's decision to accept Muslim refugees, claiming that they were "an affront to Holocaust victims." He also defended sexual misconduct-accused fashion stylist Karl Templer.
Here's what he thought of changing scenario among models
In a 2018 interview with Numero, he was quoted saying, "I read somewhere that now you must ask a model if she is comfortable with posing." "As a designer, you can't do anything. It's unbelievable. If you don't want your pants pulled about, don't become a model! Join a nunnery; there'll always be a place for you in the convent. They're recruiting even!"
He was also accused of fatphobia
In February 2012, he called famous singer Adele "a little too fat." She responded by saying, "I represent the majority of women, and I'm very proud." On another occasion, he said, "You've got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly. The world of beautiful clothing is about 'dreams and illusions.'"
Jameela Jamil called out Met last year
The Good Place actor Jameela Jamil wrote a post on Instagram in October 2022 where she bashed the Met Gala authorities for dedicating the event to Lagerfeld. She wrote, "This man...used his platform is such a distinctly hateful way, mostly towards women...up until the last years of his life, showing no remorse, offering no atonement, no apology, no help to groups he attacked (sic)."
