Celebrities honor the late Karl Lagerfeld’s fashion legacy at the 2023 MET Gala for its new exhibition, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.” The gala’s home base, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, celebrated the late designer who championed fashion houses such as Chanel, Fendi, Balmain, and his own eponymous line. The event also raises funds for The Met’s Costume Institute.
“Karl never tired of telling me that fashion did not belong in a museum. When we worked on the Chanel show together, he was incredibly generous in what he lent, but he was completely disinterested in the exhibition itself! He would say, ‘Fashion is not art—fashion belongs on the street, on women’s bodies, on men’s bodies.’”
Costume Institute’s Wendy Yu Curator in Charge, Andrew Bolton via Vogue
Topping every ‘Best Dressed’ list means honoring Lagerfeld’s signature craftsmanship of pearls, bows, and tweeds. Or be like Cara Delevingne, who modernized Lagerfeld’s personal style of sleek ties, crisp button-ups, and black blazers. Did your favorite celebrity top Music Daily’s ‘Best Dressed’ list at the 2023 Met Gala?
Best Dressed at the 2023 MET Gala
Anne Hathaway
The “The Devil Wears Prada” star never left the fictitious fashion world that is beloved by so many. Anne Hathaway has made quite a splash in fashion since early 2022, sitting front row at multiple fashion week shows and killing collaborations with Valentino and Fendi.
Hathaway found another way to top herself; this time, in atelier white tweed Versace accented with gold-and-pearl pins. Her hairstylist’s finishing touch was an authentic vintage Chanel camelia hairpin atop her beehive hair.
Kendall Jenner
The Kardashian-Jenner clan was an unexpected miss this year, except for Kendal Jenner. The supermodel sister wore custom Marc Jacobs and Wolford, a bejeweled and exaggerated Karl Lagerfeld uniform all accentuated by platform boots.
Donnatella Versace
The fashion maven wore her namesake label: a pale pink dress seemingly made of tweed. However, the silk duchess and tulle design features a chandelier Swarovski crystal, stones, and paillette atop the fabric. The Instagram post explains, “The degradé pattern is in a square tweed motif in further reference to the material synonymous with the House of Chanel.”
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish definitely lived her “bad guy” fantasy in custom Simone Rocha. The designer famously does not create custom pieces and is making her first appearance at the Met Gala. The Cartier jewelry completed the intimate dress embellishments of tulle and lace, black ribbons, and tinsel cotton weed.
Dua Lipa
The international pop star and co-chair of the 2023 MET Gala wore a prized vintage Chanel number famously worn by Claudia Schiffer. The dress was originally Chanel’s fall 1992 ‘Chanel Bride’ dress, with Claudia as one of Lagerfeld’s primary muses.
Lil Nas X
Lagerfeld’s beloved and still-existing cat, Choupette, was this year’s MET Gala sub-theme and borderline meme. How can one overtop Jared Leto‘s full-on catsuit? Simple: Get legendary MUA Pat McGrath to bling out your face and body with stoned prosthetics and finish it off with barely-there Dior attire.
Gisele Bündchen
The supermodel and friend of Lagerfeld can still fit to her now-vintage white Chanel look from 2006.
Doja Cat
Although interviewers couldn’t understand her purrs and feline prosthetics, the “Say So” rapper said her dress is custom Oscar de la Renta– a perfect way to sell your first MET Gala appearance.
Camila Morrone
The “Daisy Jones & The Six” actress looked Chanel-ready in a long black velvet fluted gown and white lace collar from Rodarte.
Nicole Kidman
Like Gisele, Nicole Kidman opted for the dress she wore in the highly-publicized 2004 “Chanel No. 5” commercial, shot by Baz Luhrmann. Nineteen years later, people still remember the Chanel embroidery, the drama, and sold-out movie theaters.
Anok Yai
The cover star adorning this month’s American Vogue dripped metallic royalty in an Atelier Prabal Gurung. But actually, the dystopic look is oxidized gold and silver hand embroidered degrade sequin paillettes– insanely clever.
Jeremy Pope
There’s no need to over-examine simplicity; Pope shut down the show in Balmain. The “Pose” actor had the MET Gala staircase to himself as he walked a 10-foot white train featuring a hand-drawn portrait of Karl Lagerfeld.
Sora Choi
Thom Browne was the dark horse behind your favorite MET GALA 2023 fashion moments, including Jenna Ortega and Teyana Taylor. Sora Choi may be selling the Karl Lagerfeld fantasy, but Shalom Harlow modeled the garment for this year’s May issue of American Vogue, which honored Karl’s legacy.
Anna Wintour selected a small group of prominent designers to create dresses inspired by Lagerfeld’s craftsmanship and legacy for the editorial.
Cardi B
Cardi B may have left the hotel in custom pink Miss Sohee, but she appeared on the carpet in ChenPeng. The young Chinese designer’s exquisite black quilted puffer ballgown had over 600 dramatic camelia details. It took more than 300 atelier hours to complete this look, a definite nod to Lagerfeld’s work ethic.
Cara Delevingne
The Chanel muse took a step above Chanel and wore Lagerfeld’s eponymous brand, copying his exact uniform in an exaggerated, chic way. Cara even dubbed the look ‘Kara Lagerfeld.’
Elle Fanning
The star of Hulu’s “The Great” looked whimsy in a custom Vivienne Westwood lace bridal gown. Fanning topped the look with a custom-fit daisy crown– in honor of her friendship with Lagerfeld.
The pioneer photographed her at age 13 for his “Little Black Jacket” book– it has been Chanel canon ever since.
Oliver Rousting
Not that Balmain’s creative director had an exciting night; his attire was relatively simple. However, carrying on a self-deprecating joke (originating from Karl himself) highlights their teacher-student bond while at Balmain together.
Alton Mason
Alton Manson is Chanel’s first black male model. When you see him closing Chanel’s next show as the ‘Chanel Bride,’ know he did it at the 2023 MET Gala first as the ‘Chanel Groom.’ The bridal dress is a Karl Lagerfeld design by Hun Kim.
Conan Gray
Conan Gray is part of the ‘Balmain Boys’ at the 2023 Met Gala, with Oliver Rousting dubbing Gray the ‘Balmain Prince.’ The singer channels an exquisite tweed-and-pearl couture take on Karl Lagerfeld’s signature black-and-white suit.
Anitta
The “Envolver” singer is the breadwinner of the Marc Jacobs family. The black dress is simple, with exaggerated fabric around the shoulders and hips that add an asymmetrical volume note. The Old Hollywood notes of Swarovski-diamonded heels and white evening gloves trends on edgy glamour.
Erykah Badu
Marnie successfully merged the Neo Soul of Erykah Badu to the 2023 MET Gala theme (“Karl: A Line Of Beauty”) by having a total of 90,000 meters of thread for fringe.
Phoebe Bridgers
The Boygenius member makes a comeback at the 2023 MET Gala, wowing in an elegant Tory Burch evening gown. Her ongoing (and profitable) skeleton motif lived on through the outlining pearls.
Michaela Coel
This year’s other co-chair donned custom nude-illusion Schiaparelli, which had 130,000 crystals and 26,000 mixed jewels. The British actress covered American Vogue’s November 2022 issue. She later revealed to MET Gala correspondent Lala Anthony that the dress took 3,800 hours to make.
Stromzy
The British rapper looked handsome in a blue floral-printed suit representing Burberry.
Jennie from BLACKPINK
The K-Pop idol radiated innocent beauty in a vintage 1990 Chanel recreation. Fellow Blackpink member Rosé attended last year’s MET Gala and reminded Jennie to have fun.
A$AP Rocky and Rihanna
The Queen of the MET arrived late alongside baby daddy A$AP Rocky in a white Valentino dress with 30 hand-applied camellias. However, the $25 million Cartier jewelry around Rihanna‘s neck is real eye candy. (Let’s forget about the camellia cocoon cape.)
A$AP Rocky is a Gucci ambassador, dressing in a black blazer, bedazzled jeans, and a kilt– a very niche, atypical nod to Karl.
Jennifer Lopez
The “On The Floor” singer exuded Old Hollywood glamour in a custom Ralph Lauren silk velvet halter gown with a hand-draped silk satin skirt.
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart’s Chanel wear is a straight ‘eff you to gender norms. There’s no other explanation: it deserves to be on this list, period. While the Chanel Cruise 2017 look is not a custom-fit archive or atelier, it still makes a statement.
Adut Akech
The Naomi Campbell protégée had many fond memories of the late Chanel designer, especially when Lagerfeld fitted the model to be the ‘Chanel Bride’ in a Chanel Haute Couture show. She’s only the second Black model in history cast as the bride.
Adut glowed in a sheer black and white pleated tulle evening gown with hand-embroidered pearls and flowers by Carolina Herrera.
Cockroach
When the rain comes, pests come out! This little one went in the flesh up the star-studded stairs. Although security squashed it before entering, the cockroach made his mark and even covered TIME!
What is your favorite look from the 2023 MET Gala? Let us know in the comments!
