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France’s former first lady Carla Bruni made an appearance at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute today in New York. The model joined Max Hollein, the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Roger Lynch, CEO at Condé Nast, and Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s Wendy Yu Curator in Charge, during the press preview for the “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” exhibition.

This year, the Costume Institute spring 2023 exhibition will examine the work of the late designer, who died in 2019 at 85.

“He was a universally curious man. He was interested in everyone. Everything interested him — except mediocrity,” Bruni said during remarks ahead of tonight’s Met Gala. “Deep down to me, Carl isn’t really gone. It’s as if he’s going to enter the room any minute followed by his royal procession… Even gone Karl remains alive,” she added. “I often imagine him leaning over us from above, perhaps even mocking us for honoring his life’s work in a museum, something we all know he would scoff at. Everyone knows the character that is Karl Lagerfeld and the aura that surrounded him. But, all those who approached him know that behind this armor of image there was also a very kind heart.”

Lagerfeld’s legacy includes tenures at Patou, Balmain, Chloé, Fendi, Chanel, in addition to founding his eponymous brand. Within the exhibit, which officially opens Friday, May 5, Bolton, examined the work of Lagerfeld, featuring approximately 150 of the designer’s pieces from the 1950s to his final collection. The show also spotlights the German-born designer’s unique working methodology, putting his sketches on display, which underscores his creative process and the collaborative relationships with his head seamstresses through the years.

“We didn’t want to emphasize Karl, the man,” explained Bolton. “Instead, we wanted to focus on Karl, the designer, and isolate the critical aspect of the design process — namely, his practice of sketching.”

Tonight, the annual fundraising event will bring together fashion and entertainment’s biggest names in honor of Lagerfeld, including hosts Dua Lipa, Penélope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer and Vogue’s Anna Wintour. The latter two were also in attendance this morning for the exhibition’s opening.