Karl Lagerfeld

The 2023 Costume Institute exhibition is dedicated to the legacy of fashion’s most hyperactive and prolific mastermind Karl Lagerfeld—a polymath designer who put even the most adroit multitaskers to shame, and whose uniform (staunchly starched collars, Ancien Régime–esque ponytail) became the stuff of legend.

With “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s Wendy Yu Curator in Charge, and longtime Lagerfeld collaborator Amanda Harlech, the exhibition’s creative consultant, have the tall order of synthesizing the designer’s career into about 150 looks. (Lagerfeld, lest you forget, designed for a handful of houses: Balmain, Patou, Chloé, Fendi, Chanel, and his eponymous brand.) And thankfully, at this year’s Met Gala, paying tribute to Mr. Lagerfeld is not solely a task for the curators, as the 2023 dress code is “In honor of Karl.”