The Met Gala 2023: Karl Lagerfeld theme explained - date, what time does it start and who is on the guest list

The first Monday of May marks the biggest night in fashion: the Met Gala. 

Known for its exclusive status and its star-studded lineup, this event is one of the most anticipated nights of the year in popular culture.Previous years have seen some outlandish outfits to celebrate the Met’s ever-changing theme. 

So when is the Met Gala this year, what is 2023’s theme and who is on the guest list? Here is what you need to know. 

When is the Met Gala 2023?

This year, the event will take place on Monday 1 May, which is the first Monday of May. It will be held at its usual venue at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It will be live streamed by Vogue, with the stream beginning at 6pm EST, which is 11pm in the UK.

The Met Gala was founded by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert in 1948 as a high society dinner party, becoming one of the most converted events under US Vogue editor Dianna Vreeland. 

Currently, Anna Wintour, Vogue’s editor-in-chief, has been holding the baton since 1995. The event is one of New York’s biggest fundraising nights, with last year generating a media value of $543 million, (£435 million). The money comes from the sale of tickets, bouts by designers and brands, and costs around $35,000 each. A table cost ranges from $200,000 to $300,000. 

The raised funds go towards the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, home to more than 33,000 pieces of clothing, jewellery and accessories that documents fashion from the 1400s to now.

What is the Met Gala’s 2023 theme? 

This year, the theme honours Karl Lagerfeld, and is titled: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. The renowned designer passed away in 2019, at the age of 85 and was one of the most prolific and celebrated fashion designers of all time. He has headed up some of the biggest fashion houses in the world, including Fendi, Chanel and his own namesake label, all three of which he acted as creative director for until his death.

The dress code is simply “in honour of Karl” and it is expected the guests will choose the creative director’s archives at Chanel, Fendi, Chloé, Balmain, Patou and his own brand. 

Who was Karl Lagerfeld?

Renowned for his artistic abilities and inexhaustible creativity, German-born Lagerfeld was creative director at French fashion house Chanel from 1983 until his death. He was also the creative director of Italian label Fendi, as well as his eponymous fashion label, and was said to design up to 17 collections each year.

He presided over many of Chanel’s jaw-dropping catwalk shows, including the 2014 supermarket set and 2018’s indoor beach, complete with sand and lapping waves.

Lagerfeld surrounded himself with a coterie of celebrity friends and fans, counting Vogue editor Anna Wintour, actor Diane Kruger, model Cara Delevingne and designer Donatella Versace among his confidantes. He was said to bestow Chanel handbags as gifts to celebrities at their first shoot with the brand.

Lagerfeld wasn’t, by his own admission, universally adored.

“All the other designers hate me,” he said in a 2018 interview with Numéro Magazine, listing Azzedine Alaïa and Yves Saint Laurent co-founder Pierre Bergé among his "enemies".

Lagerfeld voiced some more controversial opinions as well, around topics including the #MeToo movement and plus-size women, meaning not everyone is pleased with the choice of this year’s Met Gala theme.

When the theme was announced, actor and activist Jameela Jamil wrote on Instagram that Lagerfeld “was indeed, supremely talented, but used his platform is such a distinctly hateful way, mostly towards women”.

Lagerfeld didn’t have children, but he doted on his beautiful blue-eyed cat Choupette, who is still alive today and has 141k followers on Instagram.

“I don’t even think I’m that famous. Now, Choupette really is famous,” he told British Vogue.

“She has become the most famous cat in the world. I even get propositioned by pet food companies and things like that, but it’s out of the question. I’m commercial. She’s not. She’s spoiled to death. Obviously.”

Choupette is rumoured to be attending the Met Gala – if so, the cat will join co-chairs of the event Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz and Roger Federer on the museum’s famous steps.

Who was the guest list?

On 18 January, Vogue announced its 2023 hosts are Penélope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa and Vogue’s Anna Wintour, who are serving as the night’s official co-chairs.

But until the event, the Met Gala guest list is disclosed. Some of the biggest names regularly attend, including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Madonna and Rihanna. More often than not, designers attend with their muses: think Marc Jacobs and Kate Moss, or Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière and Emma Stone.

This year, it is rumoured that Elle Fanning, Paris Hilton and Priyanka Chopra Jones will be attending, as well as Kim Kardashian. Some sources say that Blake Lively will not be attending, as well as Harry Styles.