And that’s a wrap! Thank you for following along our live coverage of the 2023 Met Gala.
Although it was a controversial choice, a Karl Lagerfeld-themed Met Gala solicited, in my estimation, some of the most exciting looks at the event since at least the designer’s passing in 2019.
Lagerfeld had one of the longest careers in contemporary fashion history, but although guests could have drawn from a six-decade oeuvre (well, perhaps not all that Fendi fur), two distinct periods stood out.
The first is a gift for people who love fashion: Chanel in the early 90s.
This is when Lagerfeld was at his most playful with Chanel’s house codes, taking stuffy tweeds and pearls, signatures you would typically associate with judgemental and controlling Wasp grandmothers, and making them, well, sexy. He crafted corsets from tweed, paired box jackets with men’s boxers and put it all on supermodels who were allowed to (heaven forbid) smile on the runway.
Many designers interviewed on Vogue’s live stream tipped this era as a starting point for tonight’s custom made clothing.
This period was before the monumental sets at the Grand Palais Chanel would become known for. Back then, the pleasure was all in the clothes. That many of those who are now in positions of great power in the fashion industry came of age in the early 90s likely poring through old Vogues on the floor of their teenage bedrooms and student share houses, is probably not a coincidence.
Another interesting tidbit: as well as pulling archival pieces to dress their sample-sized starlets, Chanel actually remade some of their ambassadors’ looks, dressing Margot Robbie, Angèle and Lizzo in pieces not from but “inspired by” looks that appeared on the runway between 1991 and 1995. Lizzo and Robbie both looked exquisite. Typically for Lizzo and atypically for Robbie’s ambassadorial appearances in Chanel, they both looked thoroughly themselves.
The other aspect of Lagerfeld’s legacy on abundant display was both more obvious and more diffuse: the designer’s tendency, in later years, to shamelessly self-promote. Lagerfeld collaborated with plush toy companies to make dolls of himself and emblazoned his image on T-shirts, handbags and bottles of Diet Coke. The line that still bears his name is, essentially, a costume version of the designer’s personal aesthetic (barring his delightful Yohji Yamamoto era in the late-1990s).
This tendency to make oneself a cartoon character, to winnow one’s personhood into a brand, feels right at home in the contemporary fashion landscape – and media in general. It loudest in Jeremy Pope’s spectacular Karl-face train (custom Balmain); and a little off-pitch in Vera Wang and Lily Collins’ matching sequin Karl skirts. Perhaps most of all, it manifested in the things that went unsaid about Lagerfeld on a night where the brief was reportedly to keep comments strictly positive. Branding yourself is as much about the complex things you don’t mention as the simple parts you show.
Then there was Lil Nas X, a standout not just because he wore the creation of makeup artist Pat McGrath rather than a designer, but because his look touched on a different aspect of Lagerfeld’s legacy. Yes, there was the Choupette of it all (and he did do a much better cat than the others who tried) but there was also a combination that makes the best fashion thrilling: meticulous detail, with every crystal and pearl in place, and also very funny. Though much of Lagerfeld’s wit is now seen for what it is – punching down – you cannot deny the man had a sense of humour.
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Videos and photos of Rihanna blessing the Met Gala carpet are flooding the event’s Twitter hashtag.
RIHANNA SENDO FOTOGRAFADA NO #METGALA pic.twitter.com/9uq2nx2RIx
— CHOQUEI (@choquei) May 2, 2023
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky for the #MetGala. pic.twitter.com/dhrQRsDzwx
— XMPL (@XMPLMAG) May 2, 2023
And the bump is out #rihanna #MetGala pic.twitter.com/cfQpb02zqc
— Nọ́lá Thee Journalist (@NolaMarianna) May 2, 2023
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And the pair have finally made it to the carpet.
A moment for Rihanna, ASAP Rocky and this photo that will go down as the most iconic of the 2023 Met Gala (in my opinion).
A little two-hour throwback to the outfit-double-up of the night.
Olivia Wilde and Margaret Zhang wear the same dress to the 2023 Met Gala. https://t.co/bhXfhtgyg0
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 2, 2023
The population of Twitter has been giving their commentary all night.
Here are my favourites:
Mando (Pedro Pascal) is channelling the Emperor's Royal Guard for this look #MetGala pic.twitter.com/efSW8D82cV
— Bertin Huynh 黄嘉麒 (@bertinhuynh) May 2, 2023
Me too Danny #MetGala pic.twitter.com/qMazrGwyQv
— Karla (@karjarf) May 2, 2023
just figured out what inspired his look #MetGala pic.twitter.com/9QmySvOrKt
— gigi ♡ (@thevolkvolny) May 1, 2023
Mary J Blige not owning a boot company will always be one of the world’s greatest mysteries. #MetGala pic.twitter.com/FBAgTdhLwS
— Fried Chicken and Moët (@DereckHarmon) May 2, 2023
Cardi said y’all want Karl Lagerfeld? I’m going to BE Karl Lagerfeld. #MetGala pic.twitter.com/23eb4WAxQU
— BAVY (@itsbavy) May 2, 2023
Sora Choi in Thom Browne.A masterpiece.#MetGala pic.twitter.com/lUQR1HUX7a
— Rania (@RaniiaAlS) May 2, 2023
That cockroach at the #MetGala served pic.twitter.com/DfQXmyQc6T
— 𝕆 ℝ 𝔼 𝕃 (@OrelBryanG) May 2, 2023
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Skipping the red carpet is Rihanna’s new signature move for 2023. She did the same thing at the Golden Globes in January. You love to see (glimpses) of it.
“You’re late”
— je drunk (@je__drunk) May 2, 2023
“No shit”#MetGala #Rihanna pic.twitter.com/n7H8s86cWR
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And finally, Rihanna has arrived.
Rihanna babyyyyyy #MetGala pic.twitter.com/WGpqON5C7c
— Jackie (@jacqueline_frye) May 2, 2023
🚨 Rihanna leaving the hotel and heading to the #METGala pic.twitter.com/HzQX6dBGty
— 𝖌𝖆𝖇𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖑 (@gabgonebad) May 2, 2023
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A surprise guest has arrived (not Rihanna … yet).
A cockroach makes its way through the #MetGala carpet.
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 2, 2023
pic.twitter.com/CHJLsYDIP8
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My colleague Calla Wahlquist – deputy rural and regional editor for Guardian Aus – also happens to really, really love watching the Met Gala.
“It’s your girl, a farm grub, taking on the fashion industry,” she tells the live blog exclusively.
Here are some of her hottest takes:
Is Margot Robbie still locked into that Chanel contract? Only excuse for being so deeply boring at the Met Gala.https://t.co/BW4zW4MHr7
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) May 1, 2023
Speaking of being locked into Chanel contracts: this is the most interesting Kristen Stewart has looked at the Met Gala in YEARS. Very into it, also enjoy the mullet. https://t.co/Yxcai78bv3
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) May 1, 2023
I need that tiktoker who does the 'is it a fit or are they just skinny' series to run a ruler over these looks. https://t.co/HyGG2gfOiQ
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) May 1, 2023
Ok I'm almost done, I promise, just two more.
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) May 2, 2023
First, I did not know what Bad Bunny looked like until today, I only know him as tiktok sounds, but he has gone very slutty and I approve. Love a backless moment, love the silk flowers. https://t.co/5T42jziMMa
I quite like Calla’s rating system of “good bad interesting” versus “bad bad interesting” – a very (not at all) scientific test of the carpet’s most questionable looks.
Pedro Pascal looks objectively terrible but ALSO objectively great. The shorts! The boots! I don't want to talk about the hair! This! Is! Interesting!! https://t.co/FD2m8FKJa3
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) May 1, 2023
There is good bad interesting, which is what I think Pedro Pascal was doing, and bad bad interesting, which is Doja Cat who has come as Lagerfeld's actual cat and heir Choupette. It's giving Cats (2019). Anything evoking that aesthetic is a bad time. https://t.co/QRHtnBgaKq
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) May 1, 2023
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Vogue have closed their live stream of the event, which has switched to a pre-roll video look inside the exhibition. The final guests are inside; I believe nothing more will happen tonight – aside from whatever that big surprise Baz teased is.
My gut take is that as a fashion nerd, this was a really fun year. The references were well thought out, and it also had enough chaotic and insane moments to keep things lively.
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“Once you get on Instagram, that’s when you know you’ve had success,” says Cardi B in her second look of the night, a heavy black camelia skirt by designer Chenpeng Studio.
Here was her first look:
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Lil Nas X’s astonishing look was full body makeup by Pat McGrath; a fashion great who uses a brush and tweezers, rather than needle and thread, to shut down a red carpet.
A closer look at Jeremy Pope’s Karl Lagerfeld train.
Jeremy Pope in Balmain for the #MetGala.
— 2023 Met Gala (@2023MetGala) May 2, 2023
🙏RT & Follow @2023MetGala for updates on the #MetGala2023📷. pic.twitter.com/C5vgpIFbit
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is draped in a monochromatic puffer cloak of flowers.
And Miranda Kerr adds to the recurring white.
Viola Davis owns the colour pink.
Erykah Badu in Marni has just dropped her collaboration with the Italian brand.
When asked what Lagerfeld means to her, she gives a quote that would put the most skilful diplomat to shame: “The black and white of things is what Karl Lagerfeld means to us in fashion, the daring and not too daring. That’s what Karl means to us.”
On a night when the Thumper rule (if you can’t say anything nice, say nothing) firmly applies, this quote tastes as spicy as a habenero.
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Pedro Pascal in red on red on black.
(I love this man.)
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Alton Mason was the first black man to walk Chanel, and tonight he says his look is because when he thinks of Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel, he thinks of the bride.
Not a coincidence the bride closes the show, he’s shutting it down.
Alton Mason is Thee Chanel Bride at the #MetGala pic.twitter.com/UFuZTYkmu1
— MEFeater Magazine (@mefeater) May 2, 2023
New actor and singer Jeremy Pope is literally wearing Karl Lagerfeld’s face on a massive train.
Jennifer Lopez!
Baz Luhrmann, in Thom Browne, hints that there will be a “really surprising thing” happening inside at the Gala this year.
Stop click-baiting, Baz.
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Climate activists protest as celebrities leave The Mark Hotel for the Met Gala.
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Paris Hilton makes her first ever Met Gala appearance with Marc Jacobs.
Marc Jacobs tells Vogue “To dress Paris Hilton is like how the fuc… oops, how do you do that?” He thought it’d be interesting to dress her in black, she agreed – as long as he added some sparkles.
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Guardian Aus lifestyle editor Alyx Gorman has made an astute observation:
Florence Pugh, in Valentino, is serving pure secretarybird.
Florence Pugh, in Valentino, is serving pure secretarybird, an apex avian predator that kicks its prey to death. #Metgala pic.twitter.com/L9fFrtv0tI
— Alyx Gorman (@AlyxG) May 2, 2023
Janelle Monáe giving devious side eye …
… before revealing the first transforming dress of the evening.
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Bella Ramsey dashing in Thom Browne.
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Kim Kardashian:
And Kylie Jenner:
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For Kendall Jenner’s Marc Jacobs outfit, the designer has taken a traditional pair of flared, quilted disco trousers, cut them off and stitched them back on to the sleeves then covered the whole thing in sequins. Throw in a sharp collar, for modesty.
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Kendall Jenner just Krissed the Met Gala.
i’m sorry but Kendall’s outfit is giving YOU’VE JUST BEEN KRISSED! #MetGala pic.twitter.com/qVj1mtc1tj
— charlie ☽ (@blueyedwhore) May 2, 2023
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Elle Fanning’s dark flowerchild look, Vivienne Westwood designed by her partner Andreas, is a particularly appropriate for a Karl Lagerfeld homage.
Fanning was literally a child, 13, when Lagerfeld tapped her to appear in his Little Black Jacket exhibition.
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Cardi B everybody.
Cardi B for the 2023 #MetGala. pic.twitter.com/AwBu0sy3PU
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 1, 2023
Cardi B for the 2023 #MetGala. pic.twitter.com/NhBL0uhWe4
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 1, 2023
With the second pregnancy announcement of the event, Serena Williams arrives at the Met Gala.
Serena Williams reveals she’s pregnant at the #MetGala, expecting second child with Alexis Ohanian. pic.twitter.com/VJecLq5H0a
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 2, 2023
Vanessa Hudgens in black and white.
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Florence Pugh has a buzzcut!
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Jenna Ortega in a gothic bustier and petticoat.
JENNA ORTGEA THE WOMAN YOU ARE #MetGala pic.twitter.com/mGxlINVKIR
— ☆ | SCREAM VI (@starzlumax) May 1, 2023
Breaking: Stella McCartney and Aubrey Plaza are roasting Vogue’s hosts.
Aubrey kicks off by declaring, poker faced, her surname is “Slutburn”.
Why? Apparently Stella McCartney is always the ringleader of the good times.
AUBREY PLAZA YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS SHE SAID “AUBREY SLUTBURN” 😭😭😭😭 #MetGala pic.twitter.com/BtopoRPbN9
— b(urn) (@backslidingben) May 2, 2023
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Kristen Stewart, Chanel ambassador, wears a white cotton drill jacket with a white silk chiffon blouse and black cotton gabardine pants from the Cruise 2016/17 collection.
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Kim Kardashian says this year she just wanted to feel glamorous. She took a shot with her sisters before she arrived. Didn’t specify whether it was alcohol or iPhone.
Kim Kardashian at the 2023 #MetGala pic.twitter.com/s9Llm6BynC
— Kιɱ K Fαɳ (@KimKLegion) May 1, 2023
She is wearing Schiaparelli.
We take it back. Both Doja Cat and Jared Leto have been one-upped.
Lil Nas X is the winning Choupette.
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Jared Leto is wearing a Choupette fursuit. This is the last we’ll be saying about that because the best way to smother a bin fire is to deprive it of oxygen.
i’m fucking CRYING #MetGala pic.twitter.com/6Aj6u8QBKL
— charlie ☽ (@blueyedwhore) May 1, 2023
why did Jared Leto EAT pic.twitter.com/xsk1HB06gv
— charlie ☽ (@blueyedwhore) May 1, 2023
A person (probably definitely Jared Leto) has objectively one-upped Doja Cat.
Lizzo is distressed.
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Lizzo is in the building!
A lot of the Chanel looks tonight are remade from the archive, and Lizzo’s is no exception, this one is from the Fall-Winter 1991/92 Ready-to-Wear collection and shows that Chanel should probably have been casting models that looked like Lizzo this whole time.
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Glenn Close’s gown takes a village to move.
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Lily Collins in a gown with the name “Karl” in giant sequins
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Billie Eilish is wearing Simone Rocha.
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Devon Aoki and Jeremy Scott are ready to take to the skies.
“The last time Devon and Karl and I were together, she’d worn a winged leather bustier in the Chanel show, so I wanted to take a nod of mine with our shared muse,” Scott tells Vogue.
devon aoki first met and she’s eating up half of the fits i’ve seen so far #MetGala pic.twitter.com/bMUTIFl1p8
— ☆ | SCREAM VI (@starzlumax) May 1, 2023
And some backstage goss from Devon Aoki: Chanel are one of the only brands that will actually make shoes in models’ sizes.
So if you ever wonder why Chanel’s models seem to walk less awkwardly on the catwalk (or why models sometimes fall over on the runway), there’s your answer.
Yara Shahidi is wearing a blend of vintage Jean Paul Gaultier with a custom update.
It is one of the many looks of the night that has nods to Lagerfeld’s 1993 Chanel collection.
Yara Shahidi stuns at the #MetGala. https://t.co/m94XaFLf1c pic.twitter.com/yNxYEP9Uog
— Variety (@Variety) May 1, 2023
Anne Hathaway is pinned together in pearls by Versace.
“I just do whatever Donatella tells me to do.”
And her weave, by hairdressing legend Orlando Pita, is “vintage”. So let’s all think about that for the rest of our lives.
ANNE HATHAWAY, THE MOTHER YOU ARE #METGALA pic.twitter.com/BBIeO4T2hg
— ceo of monica (@photonsmight) May 1, 2023
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Doja Cat pays homage to Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette and vapes in Oscar de la Renta.
Doja Cat in Oscar de la Renta at the #MetGala #MetGala2023 More red carpet later on our site. pic.twitter.com/wm3aZSC79w
— Tom and Lorenzo (@tomandlorenzo) May 1, 2023
Not Doja vaping in the back of the vogue livestream 😭 #MetGala pic.twitter.com/eDFwtNyi7v
— Fran 🧸 (@blakegyllenhaal) May 1, 2023
Usher is wearing Bianca Saunders, he calls it an “honour with a little bit of personal swag” – but it’s a bit of a Karl costume to my eyes, although the pinkie ring is a nice touch.
Updated
Doja is a Cat.
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Pedro Pascal (universal father to all who sold their souls to The Last of Us) in shorts (!?) a red coat and calf-high boots.
Pedro Pascal on his way to the #MetGala. pic.twitter.com/HVseBVOqtZ
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 1, 2023
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Liu Wen is “so curious to see how people sit down” when she gets inside the Gala. Her sleek dress is a recreated 1990s Chanel look.
Updated
I see cat ears, and they are bedazzled.
Doja Cat is coming #MetGala pic.twitter.com/FKUnvFjd0U
— 🔝 (@D1aphanousBTS) May 1, 2023
Tommy Hilfiger is wearing a shirt that was given to him personally by Karl Lagerfeld, and a suit made of vintage Chanel tweed.
“I’m not sure how he managed to get dressed in this every day,” Hilfiger says, referring to the back-fastened collar. “Certainly he had a valet.”
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More Margot:
Margot Robbie on her way to the 2023 #MetGala pic.twitter.com/uCJk9ZuERM
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) May 1, 2023
Margot Robbie has arrived, the event can now cease.
She is wearing Chanel, a remade version of a Cindy Crawford look from 1993.
(We’ve got a while longer of carpet appearances, so don’t actually leave us just yet.)
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Sydney Sweeney walks the carpet in Miu Miu that “fits like a glove”, with a peach train and black bows in her gown and hair.
Sydney Sweeney at the 2023 #MetGala pic.twitter.com/wpmeHAEEag
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) May 1, 2023
Sydney Sweeney on her way to the #MetGala pic.twitter.com/A7wDSzdwOd
— @23metgala (@23metgala) May 1, 2023
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Karlie Kloss, wearing Loewe, has used the Met Gala as a pregnancy reveal:
“I got a plus one. No one gets a plus one.”
She also says during her last pregnancy: “I didn’t leave my sweatpants.”
Karl, who championed the model’s career, would not have approved.
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Brian Tyree Henry in layers of lace and pearls:
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Emily Blunt has just been asked if she is “one stomach flu away from her goal weight”. She jokes about eating a pizza and trying on her “skinny pants”. Regrettably the thinsurgence has not abated.
She’s wearing Michael Kors, who describes her as “nasty and romantic”.
Emily Blunt on her way to the #MetGala pic.twitter.com/X09xWMdmkB
— best of emily blunt (@badpostblunt) May 1, 2023
Kate Moss and daughter Lila Moss are in the building.
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Anok Yai’s big achievement for the night? “I made it up the stairs!” She’s wearing Prabal Gurung, inspired by – what else? – the early 90s.
You better believe your eyes: Anok Yai is a gilded vision on the #MetGala red carpet. pic.twitter.com/1UjX7T9Oh8
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) May 1, 2023
Dua Lipa tells Vogue “we’ve got some work to do inside” with a surprising amount of trepidation, then shows off a diamond necklace with a drop pendant so big I worry for her spinal health.
“This little thing? A very special Tiffany necklace.”
Dua Lipa is wearing a Tiffany diamond necklace at the #MetGala. pic.twitter.com/AhTmdzGfwk
— Variety (@Variety) May 1, 2023
A$AP Rocky has parkour-ed his way into the Met Gala.
A$AP Rocky jumps through the crowd to get to the hotel to get ready for the #MetGala 😭
— Rap Alert (@rapalert6) May 1, 2023
pic.twitter.com/vPVW8SLFpY
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Keke Palmer is on the Vogue livestream with Sergio Hudson – the look is inspired by Josephine Baker, and Hudson’s favourite Karl era, the early 90s.
Keke Palmer for the 2023 #MetGala pic.twitter.com/ji0llAEBvK
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) May 1, 2023
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Oh she is an angel.
Gisele Bündchen tells Vogue her dress is a throwback to her own history. She wore it in an editorial shoot with Karl Lagerfeld in “2006 or 2007”.
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Pierce Brosnan – once a Bond man, always a Bond man.
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More Nicole Kidman because yes, self-reference is the ultimate flex.
urg i just love a self-ref — ultimateflexx pic.twitter.com/UVmVa9BUG7
— Camille Charrière (@camtyox) May 1, 2023
Co-chair of the Gala, Michaela Coel, wearing a look from the rebooted maison Schiaparelli.
Updated
Ice Spice, where did your curls go?
Ice Spice at the #MetGala. https://t.co/m94XaFLf1c pic.twitter.com/bXpeeoFc2X
— Variety (@Variety) May 1, 2023
Halle Bailey arrives followed by a train of frills
Halle Bailey for the 2023 #MetGala. pic.twitter.com/RZwze6Ht99
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 1, 2023
Update: the livestream is late (fashionably).
One minute to go until Vogue’s livestream of the carpet.
Olivia Wilde in Gabriela Hearst
Updated
Am I allowed to declare my favourite this early in the carpet? If so, she has arrived.
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Baz Luhrmann!
Baz Luhrmann at the 2023 #MetGala pic.twitter.com/FZp6YjfeOS
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) May 1, 2023
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me when my grandma would make me take a pic with my cousins #MetGala pic.twitter.com/ofRpvTumJm
— Ruby Naldrett (@rubynaldrett) May 1, 2023
Gisele Bündchen may have worn angel wings many times at Victoria’s Secret, but they never looked quite like this.
Gisele Bundchen wearing Chanel Spring 2007 Couture to the #MetGala pic.twitter.com/IkU875Dx8A
— dom (@HOMMEALONE) May 1, 2023
Quinta Brunson has matched her bun to her bustle.
Quinta Brunson is the IT GIRL of the #MetGala pic.twitter.com/4SRlNyWh5V
— 𝐖𝖎𝖗𝖏𝖎𝖑 (@Wirjil) May 1, 2023
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Is it a girl? Is it a train? We honestly have no idea, but look forward to this mystery being solved.
this gotta be doja cat?? 😭😭 #MetGala pic.twitter.com/vNRCBUK8Ec
— JA (@sleezyjamie) May 1, 2023
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Australia’s Nicole Kidman dons the same gown she streaked down the streets of New York in for the Baz Luhrmann-directed spot for Chanel Number 5.
Here it is, 10 years ago:
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Harvey Guillén may steal the show in What We Do in the Shadows but he is also stealing the spotlight.
I do not want a single “what do you expect men to wear” this year. This. I expect this. #MetGala pic.twitter.com/Oi0xtoacMN
— Penelope Garcia’s Emo Phase (@hey_lookitsem) May 1, 2023
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Dua Lipa and Penélope Cruz walk the carpet in similar bridal looks.
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Sisterwives.
📹 | Video of @DUALIPA and Penelope Cruz at the #MetGala tonight! pic.twitter.com/6jv2b2OAg7
— Dua Lipa Hungary (@dlipahungary) May 1, 2023
Can a goth still wear pearls? If that goth is Pheobe Bridgers, yes.
Phoebe Bridgers at #MetGala pic.twitter.com/VBKhAoDuJ1
— @21metgala (@21metgala) May 1, 2023
And Rita Ora arrives in the first long train of the event, with husband Taika Waititi in matching draped jewellery.
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Swiss tennis player Roger Federer carries on the carpet’s sunglasses motif.
A fun fashion fact from Guardian Australia’s lifestyle editor Alyx Gorman:
Roger Federer is besties with Anna Wintour. In Anna: The Biography, author Amy Odell even reported that their relationship helped secure the Costume Institute a loan from the Vatican, when the Prefect of the Papal Household requested an introduction.
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Princess gown made even better by pockets!
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Met Gala co-chair Dua Lipa has arrived, serving Disney Princess minimalism – a phrase we never thought we’d use – dressed in Chanel couture from Fall 1992.
Dua Lipa in a gown from Chanel’s Fall 1992 Couture collection at the #MetGala pic.twitter.com/5yKdOU9rWl
— Couture is Beyond (@CoutureIsBeyond) May 1, 2023
Dua Lipa dazzles at the #MetGala. pic.twitter.com/Sxw8ig2wcE
— Variety (@Variety) May 1, 2023
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As we await more red carpet arrivals, here’s a look back at some memorable looks from Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel Couture archive in years past.
Cara Delevingne in in 2017, when the exhibition was dedicated to Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons; Anna Wintour in 2014, for another solo-designer theme Charles James; Nicole Kidman in 2005, back when the event was still a relatively niche fashion thing; and finally Diane Kruger taking the theme China: Through the Looking Glass literally in a pair of sheer pants.
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And Anna Wintor – Met Gala mastermind – has arrived, arm-in-arm with British actor Bill Nighy (not the science guy).
The night has *officially* begun… Anna has arrived. 👑 #MetGala https://t.co/Wlmq5CS9Q1 pic.twitter.com/oz0oj1Y4Qk
— Page Six (@PageSix) May 1, 2023
Speaking of Lagerfeld’s cat …
Of all the “who’s coming” speculation for tonight’s event, there’s one celebrity we’ve been following with particularly keen interest. Know for her dazzling blue eyes and tendency to wear luxurious, clotted cream real fur looks, Karl Lagerfeld’s Birman Choupette was hotly tipped to turn the red carpet into her very own catwalk.
These rumours intensified when Kim Kardashian posted a selfie with her fellow social media star five days ago, captioned: “Had a date with @choupetteofficiel in Paris. We then spent some time at @karllagerfeld’s office to get a little inspiration for the Met.”
She flew private. She had an iPad. She took her meals from three Goyard dishes. Is Choupette, Karl Lagerfeld’s cat, going to the Met Gala?
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 1, 2023
Since Lagerfeld’s death, the cat has become something of a four-legged embodiment of the designer’s legacy. https://t.co/xRFl4H93yu pic.twitter.com/l8cgofvE2S
Alas, Choupette has subsequently sent her regrets, also via Instagram. Her human wranglers wrote: “Many people invited me to walk the red carpet of the #METGALA2023 in tribute to Daddy, but we preferred to stay peacefully & cozy at home. We pay tribute to my Daddy every day since his parting and we are very moved to see one more day dedicated to him.”
Sure, it would have been easy to criticise the decision to fly a cat from Paris to New York in order to put it in a loud and uncontrolled environment for the sake of a few photographs, but a little part of me cannot help but be disappointed.
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Artist Sarula Bao is at the Met sketching the live arrivals of celebrities on the carpet.
First up is Chloe Fineman with her cat bag.
The #MetGala begins! The artist @bao__haus is on the carpet, drawing all the action live. Follow along to see her illustrations of the star-studded arrivals, beginning with Chloe Fineman and her cat bag, a reference to Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette. pic.twitter.com/BrH66HCPEx
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) May 1, 2023
Choupette, is that you? The #MetGala has only just begun, and we’ve already spotted a likely homage to #KarlLagerfeld’s beloved cat 🐱
— Marie Claire (@marieclaire) May 1, 2023
📸: #ChloeFineman pic.twitter.com/DsVVFehfeG
Former Guardian fashion editor Hannah Marriott gives her take on the Karl Lagerfeld theme this year.
Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which opens on Friday, walks a difficult line. Its entire purpose is to venerate the designer, who died in 2019 at the age of 85 after a spectacular 65-year career, whose legacy has recently been reappraised owing to much-documented fatphobic and Islamaphobic comments he made in the early 2000s, Marriot says.
You can read the full review here:
As we await the arrival of the first guests, here’s some pre-reading to whet your appetite.
If you actually want to watch the red carpet live, you can do so over at Vogue.com where the livestream will commence at 6.30pm EST (11.30pm for those staying up late in the UK; and 8.30am for all the Australians joining us for breakfast – I’m eating sequins and oat milk!)
For some speculation of what may unfold, fashion-wise, Jess Cartner-Morley has you covered. “I would love to see lots of beautiful vintage pieces,” Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton told her. Same.
For some very granular details on how the event unfolds, fashion writer and Wintour biographer Amy Odell has the hottest tea on her Substack Back Row. Some of it is paywalled off, but you can still read the bit about a long, secret queue to get in that we never see any photographs of. As per Roisin Murphy: “It’s not an ordinary queue, it’s a queue with Beyoncé and Rihanna.”
Want to know who’s tipped to go? The Cut has a great wrap of all the rumoured guests. Rihanna, who’s already been spotted in vintage Karl Lagerfeld-era Chanel once this week, is very much on their speculative list.
And, if you’d like to do some deeper reading, I highly recommend Odell’s biography of Us Vogue’s editor in chief: Anna. It outlays the meticulous control Wintour exercises over the Gala in great detail, and chronicles how the event has become the 21st century fashion industry’s king (and queen) making night. Or, for drama, feuds, “glorious excess” and the story of Lagerfeld’s rise, turn to seminal fashion text the Beautiful Fall by Alicia Drake, which centres around the famous rivalry between Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent in 1970s Paris.
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Year after year Blake Lively is a crowd favourite Met Gala guest. But she has posted to her Instagram story this morning in what looks like a not-Met-Gala-bathroom and not-Met-Gala outfit.
Blake Lively confirms she’s not attending the #MetGala with bathroom selfie:
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 1, 2023
“First Monday in May” pic.twitter.com/fjcKcyTFcF
Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds welcomed their fourth child just two months ago. She confirmed she would not be attending the red carpet last week, but said she “will be watching”.
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Some of the first famous faces are making their way up the carpet, and sunglasses are already becoming a recurring theme:
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The red carpet this year is not red:
Here’s a look at the 2023 #MetGala arrivals carpet pic.twitter.com/JHBSoPBWc4
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 1, 2023
Blue and red circles up endless cream stairs are hypnotising me slightly:
A view of this year's #MetGala steps. pic.twitter.com/daS37MIYvy
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) May 1, 2023
Welcome to The Met Gala, the biggest night in red carpet fashion. Sure we have the Oscars, the Grammys and the Emmys, but it’s only the Met where the focus is on the gowns, and where the carpet is the event rather than simply the lead-up. It’s a costume party, a social media phenomenon, a convergence of art and clothes that somehow generates more media fuss than the Super Bowl.
So what do you need to know before we kick off? The gala always takes place on the first Monday in May – today – and marks the opening of the Costume Institute’s annual blockbuster exhibition, to which it is closely themed. This year it’s “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” an homage to the longtime designer behind Chanel, Chloé, Fendi, his own Karl Lagerfeld label and early work at Balmain and Patou. Lagerfeld died in 2019, leaving a legacy that epitomised the way fashion can permeate wider culture, turning monochrome into a thing, and offending various people along the way.
This is, after all, the most controversial theme to date. It was Lagerfeld who among his many ‘Karlisms’, called Adele fat in 2012 (he later apologised), decried sweatpants as a sign of having given up and in a 2018 interview with Numéro magazine, claimed he was “fed up” with the #MeToo movement. Still, as a designer who rewrote the narrative of luxury fashion, a man as famous as the people he dressed, and a longtime friend of Wintour, becoming a Met theme was simply a matter of time. We can expect people to boycott and protests to ripple across social media regardless.
All of which makes it easy to forget The Met Gala is actually a fundraiser. Of the 400-odd celebrities and designers you’re about to see, every seat is paid for. Tickets start at $50,000 for one, and go up to $300,000 for a table, the highest on record proving even the 1% can’t avoid inflation. The money raised, of which there will be a lot, goes to the Costume Institute which has to fund itself. It turns out Anna Wintour, US Vogue editor and chief architect of the event since 1999, is just pretty good at spinning a philanthropic event into the see-and-be-seen event of the year. Last year’s gala brought in $17.4m. That’s a lot of clothes-preserved-as-art.
Of course the fun bit is seeing who turns up and what they wear. Wintour is notoriously picky with her guest list. She’s thought to value status and buzz as much as income, which explains why there were rumours of a Kardashian ban. Already guaranteed are the Met Gala hosts – Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, Roger Federer and Dua Lipa. These hosts rotate each year. Other rumoured guests are Sydney Sweeney, Aubrey Plaza, Ice Spice, Rihanna and – after all that – Kim, Kylie and Kendall.
As for the fashions, designers usually dress celebrities and arrive alongside them, meaning it sits somewhere between a costume party and an advert. We can speculate as to whether Timothée Chalamet will cosplay as Karl in sunglasses and a starch-collared Hilditch & Key shirt, whether Margot Robbie will revisit some of her questionable-yet-contractual classic Chanel ambassador looks, or whether anyone will come as Choupette, Lagerfeld’s beloved Birman cat. You’ll know momentarily! What we do know is that it’s likely Lagerfeld would not have endorsed the theme. Speaking at the announcement last September, Wintour told the Guardian he would “be rather alarmed at the idea of his clothes appearing in a museum” and that “he loathed the idea of fashion standing still enough to be admired at a backward glance”. Which somehow makes it all the more fun. Enjoy!
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Happy Met Gala day! I’m Rafqa Touma – I’ll be rolling the the blog with live updates on all things gala.
If you see anything whacky/intriguing/awe-inspiring, shoot it my way on Twitter @At_Raf_
And we are off!
