Welcome to Forgotten Runway, a deep dive into some of the more niche presentations in fashion history—which still have an impact to this day. In this series, writer Kristen Bateman interviews the designers and people who made these productions happen, revealing what made each one so special.
The name behind the theme for 2023’s Met Gala and Costume Institute exhibition is quite a ubiquitous one. On May 1st, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” will celebrate the life, work, and lasting effect the designer had upon fashion. And while some of his moves might be considered controversial today, there’s no denying Lagerfeld singlehandedly changed the industry as we know it during his tenures at Chanel, Chloé, Fendi, and even Balmain. He injected ingenuity and modernity, but more importantly, humor and wit into household labels like never before. There are plenty of examples—but one runway show that made an everlasting impact beyond the runway, catapulting itself into the pop culture canon and onto Pinterest boards forever? Chanel’s spring 1992 haute couture presentation.
Perhaps you’ve seen the famed little black dress Christy Turlington wore on the runway, layered in decadent, chunky, gold-and-glass chain jewelry across the shoulders and torso. Without Lagerfeld’s touch, it would have been an unassuming, perfectly tailored slip. But the addition of the jewelry was pure camp, and launched the look into the annals of fashion legend. The same dress was later worn by Penélope Cruz in Pedro Almodóvar’s Broken Embraces, and later, by Lily-Rose Depp on the 2019 Met Gala red carpet.
But that was just one standout piece in a collection filled to the brim with classic Lagerfeld Chanel-isms we know today. Think: structured white gowns and little jackets puffed with black taffeta, black-and-white cocktail dresses covered in costume jewelry, exacting tailored…
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