Ah, the Met Gala, the one night a year that Anna Wintour removes her sunglasses. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit always draws a wide range of celebrities, from Hollywood to Broadway to the NFL, all attempting to capture the annual theme through their apparel and accessories. Last year, it was “Gilded Glamour” (who can forget Blake Lively as a coppery Statue of Liberty?); this year, it was “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.”
The late designer—who worked at Balmain, Patou, Chloé, Fendi, and, most famously, Chanel—is best remembered for dark sunglasses, oversize starched white collared shirts with black suits, fingerless gloves, and his beloved cat, Choupette. (He’s also remembered for a slew of controversial and offensive comments that require an entirely separate article; this New York Times piece at least scratches the surface.)
As far as Met themes rendered in red-carpet fashion, Karl + celebrities yielded a cavalcade of black and white. So much black and white. Some boring, some creative, with cheeky references to Lagerfeld and his classic designs added in here and there.
Here are a few of the looks we thought were the most on-theme:
Anne Hathaway
How do you make tweed look sexy? Go to Atelier Versace, who designed this custom gown for Hathaway. The fabric might say classic Chanel—there’s also a matching blazer—but the silhouette, slits, and cutouts are all Versace. And the embellishments—safety pins (Versace) and pearls (Chanel)—are a terrific mix of both. Plus: Look at that bangin’ Bulgari statement necklace!
Michelle Yeoh
Yeoh’s chic tuxedo-ballgown hybrid—with modern details including a portrait collar and knee-length voluminous organza sleeves—is actually from the Karl Lagerfeld label. The actress kept the black-and-white theme going with her Cartier jewels (diamonds and onyx) and with her watch (Richard Mille, of course).
Julia Garner
The Ozark star called on one of Lagerfeld’s favorite jewelry designers, Suzanne Belperron, for earrings and cuffs to accessorize her glam Gucci menswear-style velvet cape and collared silk gown (note the pearls on the collar!). Among the other attendees who picked Belperron pieces: Rihanna, actor Jonathan Bailey, and designer Zac Posen.
Ke Huy Quan
And the award for Lagerfeld look goes to…Ke Huy Quan. The Everything Everywhere All at Once Oscar winner suited up in Dior Men and piled on a trio of Fred Leighton necklaces (an oval rose-cut graduated diamond invisible link chain, a black and gray diamond bead chain, and an antique sterling silver filigree chain); a brooch/tie pin; fingerless leather gloves (all the better to reveal those rings); and, yes, sunglasses.
Dua Lipa
If that necklace looks familiar, it’s no accident: The large diamond drop was cut in the same proportions as the famous Tiffany Diamond, the yellow cushion cut now set in the Lucida Star necklace that’s been worn by Beyoncé in Tiffany advertisements and by Lady Gaga at the 2019 Oscars. The 2023 Met Gala marked the debut of this white showstopper on Lipa, one of the event’s co-chairs. For her gown, the singer went into the Chanel archives and picked a fall-winter 1992 couture gown originally worn by Claudia Schiffer.
Jessica Chastain
The platinum blond wig, the sunglasses…clearly an homage to Lagerfeld, who wore those signature shades everywhere. And all black, naturally. Chastain selected a custom black strapless gown and black tulle gloves from her go-to brand, Gucci, plus high jewelry—massive rings and a diamond-covered Horsebit necklace—and eyewear from the house.
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky
Rihanna drew inspiration from Coco Chanel’s infamous camellia via her Belperron Fleur earclips and capacious Valentino silk cape, which opened to reveal a stunning multistrand Bulgari pearl and diamond necklace layered with a vintage Belperron necklace. She added more pearls with a Verdura cuff (black and white again!) and another pair of Belperron earrings. (Her Fendi fur, which she wore while leaving her hotel, was from 1997, reported Vogue, designed by Lagerfeld.) Inspired by a kilt that Lagerfeld wore in 2004, Rocky’s look was all Gucci—except for the blinged-out Boucheron belt and the jewels that subtly nodded to Lagerfeld’s famous feline, Choupette. We do love a subtle nod. You also might have noticed Jared Leto, who wore a white cat costume that looked more Times Square than Met Gala.
Top: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky (photo: DPRF/STAR MAX/IPx)
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