Strolling Through The Met's Karl Lagerfeld Exhibit

While everyone's still talking about who was the best dressed at the Met Gala - it was Anne Hathaway, obviously, this is not up for discussion - the real magic is the fashion inside. Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty is perhaps one of the most thoughtful shows that the Met Costume Institute has put on in years.

To begin, the exhibition starts with Karl's desk. A chaotic mound of inspiration carefully reproduced by curator Andrew Bolton who spent three days choosing books from Karl’s library that were representative of the garments in the exhibition. Many designers use multiple sketches, but Karl’s practice allowed for one meticulous sketch that would allow the dress makers to craft his vision to perfection. 

From there, two garments from the very beginning of Karl’s storied design career beckon you in - the first a recreation of Karl's coat that won first prize for the International Woolmark Prize, a fashion illustration competition organized by the International Wool Secretariat, the second an early cape from the house of Patou.

The main part of the exhibition focuses on the difference between two lines in Karl’s work. The straight-line represents Karl’s minimalist side and the serpentine line that references his more romantic and feminine tendencies and how these two lines are consistently dueling against each other in his work. The subject line is duality and represents the contradictions in Karl’s work in each of the galleries, for example that of the Rococo Line / Classical Line or Historical Line / Futuristic Line. The breadth of work focuses on his collections during his time at Chloe, Fendi, Chanel and his own label Karl Lagerfeld all perfectly on display. The focal point of each of these dualities are these “explosions” as Bolton put it, or dresses that reconcile these two divergent ideas in one dress.

While you'll have to see the exhibit for yourself, I must note a few of my favorite designs! A channel black and silver suit with a plastic robot helmet from Chanel Spring Summer 2017, a gold silk and metal suit from Chanel Autumn / Winter 1996-1997, three works from the Fendi “Young Bride in the Forest” collection Autumn / Winter 2016-2017 which are truly magical, and two gowns from Karl’s final Chloe collection in 1984 which paid homage to the Greek and Roman mythology.

To finish, we're left with the iconic black and white attire that Karl was so famous for. A cloak of invisibility it was able to deflect any deeper meanings or interpretations about himself by others.

Karl redefined women’s fashion, never catering to the baseline, challenging the fashion world to dream in their dress. Perhaps it was his longtime friend and fellow designer Hedi Slimane who put it best, “Fashion Designers think they are famous… in fact, they are not… There’s only one famous fashion designer, and that’s Karl.”