The Met Gala 2023 theme has just been announced, and it's already causing controversy.
Making the announcement on September 30, the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute confirmed that next year's theme will be 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty'.
The event will pay tribute to the longtime creative director of Chanel following his passing in 2019. He died from pancreatic cancer, aged 85.
The prolific designer spent 30 years at the helm of the iconic fashion house; but the man behind the dark sunglasses and white ponytail had a complicated legacy that some don't think should be celebrated.
British presenter and podcast host Jameela Jamil made an impassioned post on her Instagram damning the decision, writing: "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."
"Why is THIS who we celebrate when there are so many AMAZING designers out there who aren't bigoted white men?" she continued.
"Sorry, but no. This isn't the 90s. We didn't fight all this sh*t just to throw it all away because some white guy made some pretty clothes for people's skinny faves... come on now."
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Although she's the only celebrity who's spoken out about the decision so far (we assume most still want an invite to the glamorous gala), many on Twitter agree, calling the event out for celebrating the polarising man.
Love but no sex.
One of Lagerfeld’s most interesting quirks was the fact he refused to sleep with anyone he loved, instead he went to high class escorts for sexual pleasure.
“I don’t like sleeping with people I really love. I don’t want to sleep with them because sex cannot last, but affection can last forever. I think this is healthy,” he told Vice magazine.
“For the way the rich live, this is possible. But for the other world, I think they need porn,” he added.
His love life was rarely spoken about, but arguably one of the most heartbreaking periods of Lagerfeld’s life was the death of his partner of two decades, Frenchman Jacques de Bascher, a story he only told in 2017.
Lagerfeld spent De Bascher's final days in 1989 beside his partner's hospital bed as he died of AIDS, aged 38.
He never had a relationship again.
The other love of Lagerfeld's life was his pampered cat Choupette.
He even admitted once, he would have tied the knot with her if he could because she was his soulmate.
As well as an eye for fashion, Lagerfeld had a deep love of culture and a respect for learning - speaking four languages.
His home close to the Boulevard Saint-German in Paris houses a library of 300,000 titles.
Feature image: Getty.
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