• By Swati Singh
  • Sat, 29 Apr 2023 09:45 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Fashion's biggest costume event is around the corner and it will be attended by several celebs of the entertainment industry. Though the excitement regarding the Met Gala is still intact, this year's theme, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, has been garnering a lot of controversy. Here is all you need to know about the controversy surrounding one of the biggest names in the fashion industry.

What Is Met Gala 2023 Theme?

This year's Met Gala theme is "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty". Although the motif is appropriate to pay tribute to the late designer, it is also quite specialised and may prove difficult for certain designers to get the perfect appearance. The topic has also drawn a lot of criticism, and it will be interesting to watch how designers interpret it.

Criticisms Surrounding Met Gala 2023 Theme:

Many celebs have been criticising the theme. Recently, British actor and activist, Jameela Jamil, condemned the choice of theme by the Met Gala. He headed to his Instagram handle and expressed his opposition to the Karl Lagerfeld theme. The actor stated, "Karl Lagerfeld is the theme for the entire Met Gala next year. This man... was indeed, supremely talented, but used his platform is such a distinctly hateful way, mostly towards women, so repeatedly and up until the last years of his life, showing no remorse, offering no atonement, no apology, no help to groups he attacked... there was no explanation for his cruel outbursts."

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"Those groups were women who were sexually assaulted, the entire me too movement, gay couples who wanted to adopt, all fat people, specifically fat women, and some of his greatest harm was against Muslim refugees, and the disgusting way he spoke about people fleeing their homes for fear of their lives. Why is THIS who we celebrate when there are so many AMAZING designers out there who aren't bigoted white men? What happened to everyone's principles and "advocacy." You don't get to stand for justice in these areas, and then attend the celebration of someone who reveled in his own public disdain for marginalized people," he further mentioned.

 
 
 
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A post shared by Jameela Jamil (@jameelajamil)

The High Fashion Twitter Met Gala recently declared that they won't be celebrating this year's Met Gala. It tweeted, "As we approach the first Monday of May, the hf twitter met gala team would like to announce that we will not be celebrating this year’s met gala as our values don’t align with the selection of Karl Lagerfeld as the theme. We hope to celebrate with our community again soon."

Why Is Met Gala 2023 Theme Being Crticised?

Throughout his career, Karl Lagerfeld has been charged with making remarks that were fatphobic, homophobic, misogynistic, and Islamophobic. These remarks weren't spoken by Jamil years ago and were later dredged out.

Some of Karl Lagerfeld's Controversial Statements:

- You cannot kill millions of Jews and then take in millions of their worst enemies afterwards… I know someone in Germany who took in a young Syrian, and after four days said: 'The greatest thing Germany invented was the Holocaust.'

- You cannot kill millions of Jews and then take in millions of their worst enemies afterwards… I know someone in Germany who took in a young Syrian, and after four days said: 'The greatest thing Germany invented was the Holocaust.'

- 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!

- There was once a designer in Paris who said, ‘My dresses are only for intelligent women.’ She went out of business, so maybe there were only idiots. In fact, it was not clever for her to say that. I design for the people who like. There is no age group because age group is a racism in a way, too.”

- She is like a kept woman. She has a strong personality. She has lunch and dinner with me on the table, with her own food. She doesn’t touch my food. She doesn’t want to eat on the floor. She sleeps under a pillow and she even knows how to use an iPad. She has two personal maids, for both night and day. She is beyond spoiled.

- Life is not a beauty contest, some ugly people are great. What I hate is nasty, ugly people. The worst is ugly short men. Women can be short, but for men it is impossible. It is something that they will not forgive in life — they are mean and they want to kill you.

- [Critics] are fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television, saying that thin models are ugly.

 

One of the most renowned designers of the 20th century, Karl Lagerfeld spent many of his years working for companies like Fendi and Chanel, where he collaborated and developed ready-to-wear and couture lines as well as his own label later on.