Men put on the style at the Met gala, but the Karl Lagerfield theme was a fashion faux pas | Bidisha Mamata
The Met gala has come and gone in a brief cacophony of internet clicks. Like many people, I balance ignorance of its purpose (it's an annual fundraiser for the Met museum's Costume Institute) with needing to know what everyone wore. The men triumphed this year, what with Taika Waititi's unstructured bluish-grey housecoat, Bad Bunny's seductive white backless blazer, Barry Keoghan in retina-sizzling electric blue plaid and Pedro Pascal's bare knees, cheeky scout grin and scarlet overcoat.
Every Met gala has a theme, and this one honoured the late Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld's designs were peppy and sellable. But the monochrome palette, the boucle wool, the pearls, the silk jersey, the uncorseted black dress, the neat little shoulders and narrow silhouette, the androgyny and uniform aesthetics, the quilting and tweed, the chains and braids, the camellias, the handbag, the logo and - above all - Chanel No 5 perfume, whose sales keep the business running? Those were invented by one woman, the genius Coco Chanel.
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