debtUn, Fendi, but hopefully no fur, the 65-year career of the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld will be the subject of a blockbuster exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art next spring to benefit the celebration – or the Met Gala. – May.

At a press conference in Paris, US Vogue editor and honorary co-chair of the exhibition Anna Wintour said the idea came to her shortly after Lagerfeld’s death in 2019.

She describes the designer as a friend, a king of commerce, an intellectual, and “the most well-read person I’ve ever known,” and said: increase.

“He hated the idea that fashion stood still, so he was admired from behind.”

The event, originally scheduled for 2021, has been postponed due to the Covid pandemic.

The exhibition’s full title, Karl Lagerfeld: The Line of Beauty, is named after Hogarth’s 1753 aesthetic theory outlined in An Analysis of Beauty, and focuses on the transformation of Lagerfeld’s 2D sketches into 3D clothing. guess

More than 150 garments will be on display, including the designer’s career as creative director for Chloé, Fendi and Chanel, the Karl Lagerfeld label, and work for Balmain and Patou.

The exhibition is underpinned by two beauty lines, straight and meandering, culminating in ten looks that focus on Lagerfeld’s ironic side.

The clothing is likely conveyed by his black-and-white uniform and includes aphorisms or karisms, including “sweatpants are a sign of defeat,” often quoted in pandemics.

At the time of his death, Lagerfeld was the creative director of three labels: Chanel, Fendi and his namesake brand. But as his maxim (“trendy is the last step before stickiness”) and his cat (Choupette) fans can attest, the designer’s influence extends far beyond the catwalk, where fashion It’s emblematic of how Lagerfeld has permeated the wider culture. Even if it’s not Lagerfeld-designed, the costumes at the gala will be a nod to his tentacle reach.

Without his sunglasses, high-collared Hilditch & Key shirt, driving gloves, his favorite Diet Coke, and his signature stark white ponytail, Lagerfeld was a whimsical figure rarely seen.

“He was the Hitchcock of the fashion world,” said Andrew Bolton, Curator of the Costume Institute. “There was always Karl on his runway.”

As famous as a stamp, his trademark image is likely to make an appearance on the red carpet in May in some form.

Among the celebrity hosts (which included poet Amanda Gorman last year and Harry Styles before that) was Pharrell Williams, who regularly wore Lagerfeld’s Chanel to public events. “The first time I heard about Chanel was in the ’90s at Notorious B.I.G.,” Williams said at a press conference. “Forgive me [saying] This, however, I associate Karl with Chanel more than with Gabrielle [Bonheur “Coco” Chanel].

“I feel very lucky to have experienced him. No pun intended.

The Met has curated a designer-focused show, following Alexander McQueen in 2011 (who passed away in 2010) and Japanese Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo in 2017. Third time.

Bolton agreed with Winter, stating that Lagerfeld was “100% intimidated by the idea and kept telling me over and over again that fashion is not art and fashion should not be shown in museums”, but the exhibition explained that it was more like an essay than an essay. look back. “We knew he wanted to be more positive than backward.

The theme isn’t a complete departure from last year’s controversial ‘no contact’ golden charm, which was scrutinized for its timing with the global economic crisis following the pandemic. Including bouclé suits and oversized pearls, Chloé faux fur, quilting on everything from dresses to handbags, and gowns adorned with pastoral motifs of arches, not to mention the double C logo, the 4 on a daily basis. I was lost in one picture.

Nor is it a controversial designer. After losing more than 90 pounds of his weight on a strict diet, he later documented in a book that he famously described Adele as “a little overweight,” and in 2017 German Chancellor Angela said he was Merkel’s immigrant. Provoked outrage when he called out the Holocaust in relation to policy.

It would be remiss to ignore Lagerfeld’s relationship with fur, which began at Fendi in the late 1960s. “that is [complicated]said Bolton. “We don’t collect furs anymore. We only have historical pieces, but they were a big part of his legacy, so we’re including some of them. I don’t believe in censoring history, I believe in contextualizing history.

“We would like to reach out to Peta and let them know what we are doing and what we are thinking. They will have their own opinions.”

When asked if he would see Fendi fur on the red carpet in May, Bolton said: No.