Creating a physical representation of a 65-year career is not easy, especially when it comes to work as influential as Karl Lagerfeld’s. Nevertheless, the 2023 Met Gala attempted to do just that, filling a red carpet with hundreds of artistic odes to the designer. Unsurprisingly, certain aspects of Lagerfeld’s career were heavily represented, with dozens of guests arriving in both modern and archival Chanel and Fendi designs. But when it came to honoring Lagerfeld’s first job as a creative director at the French house Patou—that was left up to just Allison Williams.
On Monday night, Williams arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art escorted by Patou’s current creative director, Guillaume Henry. The actress wore a coral Italian silk satin dress with a wide belt, column skirt, and half-tied bow that crawled up her left shoulder before falling behind her in a train. A graphic cat eye, black gloves, Mikimoto pearls, and a black headband gave the overall ensemble a decidedly vintage feel. If the actress resembled a 1950s fashion sketch come to life, that’s because Henry, Williams, and the Patou team succeeded in their endeavor.
Williams’s look was inspired by one of Lagerfeld’s original sketches from his time at Patou, one that Henry feels “perfectly represented his time” as the creative director, which lasted for just five years, between 1958 and 1963. Henry made the decision to recreate the design for the Met Gala, and Anna Wintour played the role of matchmaker, asking Williams to model the dress at the event. “I was so honored to be asked to represent this part of his career,” the actress tells W over the phone. When Henry began working with Williams on the project, he too was pleased with the choice of Williams. “I adored her fresh approach to fashion, and I have to admit, I loved the way she surprised us speaking perfect French during our first Zoom call,” he says. “We immediately knew it was the perfect…
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