The 2023 Met Gala Theme, Hosts, and Date

Met Gala 2023 › Fashion › Met Gala

Often dubbed the ‘Oscars of fashion’, the event draws in the biggest A-list names, who will dress according to a set theme, usually in bespoke creations from the world’s most impactful fashion designers. In previous years, guests have dressed to the themes of ‘punk’, ‘camp’ and ‘heavenly bodies’, while there have also been events that have paid tribute to specific designers, including Alexander McQueen and Rei Kawakubo.

What is the Met Gala?

The Met Gala, which is also known as the Costume Institute Benefit or the Met Ball, is a charity event held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City each spring – and always makes for one of the most exciting celebrity-fashion events of the year.

The ball tends to raise millions for the Costume Institute at the Met – which holds an annual accompanying exhibition – through the sale of tickets, which are bought by designers and brands. Tickets cost around $35,000 each, with tables ranging from $200,000 to $300,000.

The fashion world is abuzz about Met Gala 2023. Producers of the industry’s biggest event announced its oft-discussed theme for this year’s fashion fête. So what will it be?

Whilst The Kardashians Might Not Be Invited to the Met Gala, The Met Gala 2023 theme is “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” a tribute to the prolific designer who passed away in 2019. In addition to news of the theme, Vogue recently shared the cochairs of this year’s event, which will include such names as Dua Lipa and Michaela Coel. And while they have yet to reveal the guest list, rumours are circulating that certain red carpet mainstays may not receive an invite this year.

As for the exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, which hosts the gala each year, it won’t be the typical artist retrospective. According to Vogue, approximately 150 looks Lagerfeld designed for various houses will be on display alongside the original sketches that he drew for each look.

Over the course of 65 years, Lagerfeld left his mark on some of luxury’s most beloved brands, including Balmain, Patou, Chloé, Fendi, and Chanel. At the latter couturier, the German-born designer was creative director from 1983 until his death in 2019. He launched his own eponymous ready-to-wear label in 1984, which continues to produce clothing and accessories for men and women.

Although his designs are varied and innumerable, Lagerfeld himself favored a uniform of sorts. He was often instantly recognizable for his tried-and-true white ponytail, black sunglasses, fingerless gloves, and high collars. These design details were a critical part of how he put himself together — celebrities walking the Met Gala red carpet will likely find creative ways to incorporate Lagerfeld’s signature accessories into their own looks.

Could Zendaya make a leather-clad appearance of her own? Maybe Blake Lively will step out in vintage Chanel? Are the Kardashians even invited? We’ll have to wait until May before all will be revealed. In the meantime, keep reading for more Met Gala 2023 details, and be sure to check back here as further updates are announced.

What is the 2023 Met Gala theme?

This year exhibition theme will be ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty’, which Andrew Bolton, the Met’s curator, explained will not be a straightforward retrospective, but will pay tribute to his life’s work in a unique manner.

“At its heart the exhibition will look at the evolution of Karl’s two dimensional drawings into three dimensional garments,” he told WWD. “We could not do a traditional retrospective. For one thing, I think Karl would have hated that.”

The 2023 Met Gala is taking place on Monday 1 May in New York.