The 2023 Met Gala is Monday. Here’s everything you need to know, including why some consider the theme problematic.

The annual Super Bowl for fashion, memes, Hollywood stars, and memes about Hollywood stars is upon us: the 2023 Met Gala.

Monday evening, fashion designers, celebrities, and philanthropists will gather at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to celebrate a new fashion exhibition. Each year, the Met Gala — also known as the Costume Institute Benefit or Met Ball — marks the unveiling of a new museum exhibit through a massive charity event that is recognized as one of the biggest fashion events of the year.

This year’s also marks a celebration of Karl Lagerfeld, a fashion figure some say isn’t worth celebrating, citing xenophobia, misogyny, and fatphobia.

Still, thousands of viewers are expected to tune in from home. And they’re not watching for the exhibition itself — they’re here for the lewks. Dubbed “The Oscars of Fashion,” celebrities’ outfits to attend the event creates the spectacle. It’s the kind of event that somehow turns all of us into veteran members of the Fashion Police.

It’s where Kim Kardashian wore Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress, where Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sported a gown that said “Tax The Rich,’ where Zendaya appeared as a modern-day Cinderella and Lizzo played her flute, making it her coveted accessory.

Celebrities attend as guests of designers and fashion houses that purchase tables. They show off their outfits on a red carpet that is streamed to viewers. They walk up what seems like the longest staircase known to exist — which has become the center of numerous memes, including a debunked one that claimed singer Jason Derulo fell down them (He didn’t. He fell at the Cannes Film Festival years earlier).

Through good, bad, and downright meme fodder, the Met Gala always promises to be a talker. And with this year’s theme set around a controversial fashion designer, it’s pretty much guaranteed that the conversation will continue for a while.

Here’s what you need to know.

The Met Gala red carpet will be live-streamed by Vogue on the fashion outlet’s YouTube, social media channels, and website starting at 6:30 p.m.

E! will begin its coverage of the “hautest holiday of the year,” which includes a red carpet feed and panelist commentary, beginning at 6 p.m.

For those interested in the Met’s actual exhibit, the Lagerfeld tribute will be open to the public starting Fridayand will feature about 150 pieces spanning Lagerfeld’s career.

The 2023 spring exhibition theme is “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beatuy.”

Lagerfeld was a notable fashion designer and personality whose career spanned the 1950s through 1980s especially. He is best known for his work as Chanel’s creative director — a position he held from 1983 until his death in 2019.

Before leading Chanel, Lagerfeld worked with Fendi, Chloé, and Valentino. The Met said in a statement that the gala’s theme would be in Lagerfeld’s honor. In turn, red carpet looks are basically guaranteed to be related to Lagerfeld’s five decades worth of work.

Though Lagerfeld’s portfolio — especially with Chanel — is widely revered, the designer wasn’t exempt from controversy.

He was known for fatphobia, misogyny, homophobia, racism, and Islamaphobia throughout his career.

“A ruthless, fat-phobic misogynist shouldn’t be posted all over the internet as a saint gone-too-soon,” actress and advocate Jameela Jamil said after Lagerfeld’s death. “Talented for sure, but not the best person.” As noted by Vox, Lagerfeld spoke poorly of “curvy women,” which to him, meant anything above a size 2. He would exclusively cast thin — oftentimes extremely thin — models for his shows and campaigns proclaiming that “no one wants to see curvy women.”

In 2012, he infamously described Adele as “a little too fat,” and later admitted he actually meant to say Lana Del Ray. Adele responded by saying she was proud to have a body type that represents the majority of women.

In 2017, Lagerfeld went on an Islamaphobic rant while being interviewed for a French TV show. The designer compared Germany’s liberal immigration policies to the Holocaust and called German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy on accepting refugees from Muslim-majority nations “a huge error.”

When the #MeToo movement began earning attention, Lagerfeld said in an interview that he was “fed up with it,” and cast doubt on the victims’ timing for going public with details. When stylist Karl Templer was accused by models of sexual misconduct, Lagerfeld said, “if you don’t want your pants pulled about, don’t become a model ... join a nunnery.”

Some figures in Hollywood, including Jamil, have criticized the Met Gala’s theme and its celebration of Lagerfeld.

Anna Wintour, Vogue’s editor-in-chief and global editorial director, who organizes the annual event, has tapped Michaela Coel, Dua Lipa, Penelope Cruz, and Roger Federer as this year’s celebrity cochairs.

Cochairs serve as a sort of ambassador for the annual celebration. They help organize the event and are typically expected to speak or perform.

In 2021, Billie Eilish, Timothée Chalamet, Naomi Osaka, and Amanda Gorman served as co-chairs. Eilish sang at the event and Gorman read poetry.

While a full guest list is never published, some celebrities have started to confirm their attendance.

Celebrities including Elle Fanning, Kim Kardashian, and Emma Chamberlain announced their intentions to attend. According to Vogue, about 600 people usually attend the gala.