The TGIF weekend lineup differs from the societal mores or our sincerely piqued interest in frivolous diversions during these politically wild and tumultuous times. This week, we go through a time warp back into Y2K and beyond with the uber-messy Karl Lagerfeld + The Met Gala. Get into it below.
Have knowledge of what you’re talking about. Read and be curious. Always listen. Be prepared when you’re doing something. That's especially true in the fashion world. — André Leon Talley, Glamour Magazine, 2013.
⏳ Retro Fixation is a TGIF series dedicated to our infatuation with the past, which is undeniably resurging now. Step back in time with us and get into it below.
With a morbid fascination for the past and pop culture, through all its layers and nuances, writing about both can be a continuous trip of unlocking hidden-away folders of past forgotten nostalgia archives of my brain— and the Met Gala and all of its opulent spectacle has taken up plenty of space since my teenage days.
Falling on May Day no less, fashion’s biggest night returned to May rather than whatever that September blip was. The irony isn’t globally lost, although the U.S. doesn’t officially recognize International Labor Day— even on the looming heels of another pivotal writers’ strike.
Vogue’s official hosts for this year’s Met Gala were Michaela Coel, Penelope Cruz, Dua Lipa, and Roger Federer as co-chairs alongside Anna Wintour as the theme was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. While Lagerfeld is widely recognized for elevating Balmain, Patou, and Chloé before leading Coco Chanel’s fashion house, kunty ‘Kaiser Karl’ was also known to adhere to Coco’s obtuse levels of antipathy.
Lagerfeld vocalized misogyny, disdain, and hatred, sometimes followed by contrition— depending on the power or celebrity status. Pompous complete as the white-haired designer, famously references 18th-century nobility for his notorious low ponytail silhouette as he remained in women’s business and often commented on their bodies.
Specifically, he called Adele “roundish” and then accredited himself when she lost weight in 2012. Or when he called Heidi Klum “too heavy,” “commercial,” and a “nobody” in 2009. Or when the messy aristocratic admirer kept to his ivory tower facade when stirring the pot when displeased as he liked to knock down women a peg or two, like calling Meryl Streep “cheap” in 2017. Rumored to have been associated with insecurities like many of us, Lagerfeld stuck closer to elitism instead of looking inward— and many happily glossed over or excused the then-Fendi powerhouse’s comments as flippant.
Such rich arrogance from someone who wore the same thing every day but in slightly different variants; he even went as far as to publish a problematic diet book, The Karl Lagerfeld Diet, which became a Best Seller in France for impressionable women in 2004. According to Lagerfeld, “No one wants to see curvy women,” he reportedly told German magazine Focus in 2009— as if Lagerfeld didn’t deprive himself and incorporated meal replacement ‘protein sachets’ and diet cokes to fit into then Dior Homme’s Hedi Slimane’s designs. Famously polarizing, Karl Lagerfeld was a cold, calculated choice, making it all the better for theatrics and optics since Madame Vogue, Anna Wintour, and her famous sunglassed decorated bob love to champion controversial men waiting for a comeback— just as she did for once fashion luminaries John Galliano and Alexander Wang. Seemingly ideal for a modern-day Edith Wharton-twisted New York fantasy as we closely observe the social rituals of the elite.
Except we’d be misrecollecting that Lagerfeld’s alleged hissy fit is to be why the 2000 Met Gala was canceled despite the museum’s chief curator, Richard Martin’s passing being the lede— the Chanel exhibit finally came to fruition five years later without involvement, only late approvals from Lagerfeld, who reportedly didn’t even see the exhibit until the eve of nor did he attend the show. Telling the press at the time, “I dislike retrospectives.” The significance of canceling the 2000 Chanel exhibit sent a domino effect precedence, and the timing changed from fall to spring— on the first Monday in May instead of December.
Regardless of kunty Karl being the chosen theme, the Met Gala hasn’t been quite the same since Vogue fumbled the Met Gala’s ostentatious legacy in 2018 by stunt-casting influencers to capitalize on viral and marketable moments. This gamble went awry while dishonoring colleagues and longtime friends such as the legendary André Leon Talley, which ALT shadily mentioned the influencer currency exchange in his memoir, The Chiffon Trenches. Despite ALT and Anna Wintour allegedly making up before his passing a year ago, The Chiffon Trenches juicily alleges that Lagerfeld truly was that horrible German grump that the fashion blind items made him out to be as his transactional reputation proceeds him.
Previously predicting a sea of black-and-white dullness in the Pop Culture Round-Up, Karl Lagerfeld wasn’t a captivating or inspiring choice. However, some surprises were peppered in. Nevertheless, instead of hyper-focusing on the endless dissection of political possibilities of this year’s theme— which has been through the discourse echo chamber online— we decidedly obliged our Retro Fixation with a Youthquke Time Warp of our favorite Met Gala looks of the past. We present our favorite looks of The Met’s 1999’s Rock Style with Anna Wintour, Tommy Hilfiger, and Aerin Lauder as co-chairs.
The last time the Met Gala truly impressed us with its elaborate artwork and frivolity was 2018’s Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination theme. However, step back to 2015’s Met Gala theme with China: Through the Looking Glass as Editrix-in-Chief Anna Wintour collaborates with filmmaker Wong Kar-wai as the show’s artistic director and other visionaries, such as advice from Baz Luhrmann— the documentary is fascinating.
The First Monday In May: The Met Gala Museum Documentary is currently on Hulu, and I recommend pairing it with 2017’s The Gospel According to André on Peacock/Prime/Hulu.
The dull social construct of stan culture continues the brain rot of worshipping celebrities that exploded in the noughties, which makes sense with the ongoing Y2K resurgence. As the insipid media machine is exploitable and highly profitable as nativity is beguiling, we see a growing return of romanticizing ‘quiet luxury,’ ‘old money aesthetic,’ and ‘stealth wealth.’ Desiring inherited wealth or striving to be affluent and with a morsel of power while bootlicking the bourgeoisie but with even less privacy and more daffy takes from perpetually online humans living through a terrifying lens of parasocial relationships. Personally, it’s how a person wears the clothes— how it’s styled and the tiny yet intricate details that tell a story or feel luxurious, regardless of the price tag attached. Not who wears it, and that should be obvious as sometimes the gorgeous beautiful gowns wear you— I’m looking at the Klan of famous sisters who are just stunning (heavy on the Mancunian accent there) clothes hangers.
Conversely, as the proud granddaughter of a seamstress, I cannot deny the skill, labor, and artistry of impeccable talent as designs come to life— fashion outlines architecture in motion as its creativity breathes into life. The duality of life is wisely accepting and scarily knowing light within the darkness. Such as knowing the seedy underbelly of the billion-dollar fashion industry is broken and heralding a beautiful masked facade to hide its self-created illusion. I’m for preserving fashion, as textiles are integral to archival history, whereas philanthropy is the hidden exercise of private power, which should be the spotlighted focus. There are some essential reads that detail more than I can here, here, and here. I also highly recommend reading up on the Condé Union, which gives a real insight to those not on the red carpet but every bit deserving.
As of late, I’ve been helping my mom recuperate from her unexpected surgery. Hermiting by happenstance, I’ve been laying low and catching up on Succession and hidden trashy guilty pleasure, Vanderpump Rules— which has consumed my thoughts and will make a Youthquake appearance in time for that sure to be explosive finale/reunion.
Con Amor,
Naomi x