The 10 best-dressed looks from Met Gala 2023

The Oscars of Fashion has taken place on Monday, May 1, 2023. The Met Gala is the fundraising charity event held every year for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. There is a spring exhibit that follows the fete and this year's exhibition is titled "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty". So, the 2023 dress code and theme for the gala was "In honour of Karl".

The guests did scratch the surface with their homage to Lagerfeld. With the red carpet filled with black and white looks, camellia flowers, tweeds, pearls, and gold jewellery there were obvious attempts to reference his signature style and his archival work at Chanel.

The best looks were selected based on how closely they matched the themes, the references to Lagerfeld, and of course how well it looks and fitted the celebrity. So, without further ado let's look at the 10 looks that stole the night, with the looks arranged in no particular order.

Jeremy Pope in custom Balmain by Olivier Rousteing

Jeremy Pope did the most dramatic train this year with a cape 10 meters long.  The cape featured a hand-drawn illustration of Karl Lagerfeld and had to be carried by 5 people on the steps. According to the brand, 70 seamstresses brought the look to life using 5000 metres of silk chiffon. The look was paired with flared black trousers.

Cardi B in custom Chenpeng Studio

Cardi B did an excellent job of paying tribute to Monsieur Lagerfeld. She was donning an exquisite ball gown. She put on a platinum blonde wig, reminiscent of Lagerfeld's hair.

The top of the outfit had white collars and a black tie, a nod to Lagerfeld's signature outfit. The black tie joined the black bustier which nipped beautifully at the waist. The bottom of the outfit consisted of a voluminous quilted puffer-style skirt. The quilted style served as both a signature of Chinese designer Peng and a reference to the quilted texture of Chanel bags.

The skirt was embedded with 600 camellia petals. It took 300 atelier hours to construct this fabulous garment.

Anne Hathaway in Custom Atelier Versace

Anna Hathaway's look on the red carpet is a beautiful marriage of the aesthetics of two brands, Chanel and Versace.  It is a strapless floor-length white gown made with gold thread French tweed with arm warmers made of the same fabric. The slashes of the form-fitting gown are held together by Medusa gold safety pins with white pearls and Medusa emblems.

Further embellishments included Swarovski crystals. It is an excellent blend of house codes of Chanel (tweed, camellia flowers, and pearls) with a reference to the iconic, safety pin dress of Versace from 1994, also known as "That dress". For context, "that dress" is considered one of Versace's best-known creations.

Jenna Ortega in custom Thom Browne

A much-nuanced nod to Lagerfeld. According to the brand's official Instagram page, Jenna is wearing a custom-cropped jacket with a reconstructed coat-draped skirt in black chiffon tweed. There are 1000 appliqued black crystals over black, gold, and pearl embroidered pannier and a black corset over a collared white silk organza shirt with a black silk faille tie.

The tie featured a black and white flower at the centre. This looks does an excellent job of giving an ode to the man of the evening.

Dua Lipa in Vintage Chanel

As one of the co-chairs of this year's Met Gala, singer Dua Lipa arrived in a vintage 1992 Fall Winter Chanel Couture dress. This was the show-stopping final look, a staple of Chanel couture shows that end with a bridal look. The dress was famously worn on the runway by supermodel Claudia Schiffer.

Dua Lipa accessorised the look with a never before seen Tiffany and Co white diamond necklace which is over 100 karats.

Doja Cat in custom Oscar De La Renta

With her name being Doja Cat, it was fitting for her to pay homage to Karl Lagerfeld's beloved Birmin cat, Choupette Lagerfeld. She is wearing a backless, form-fitting halter neck style floor-length, silver and white ombre bead gown. The dress is hooded and embedded with two small cat ears.

She also did prosthetics to mimic Choupette's look. The dress has a white feather mermaid skirt train, a reference to the 1930s aesthetic that Lagerfeld brought to Chanel. It also resembles the fur of his beloved feline.

Bad Bunny in custom Jacquemus

One of the boldest looks by a man on the carpet, Bad Bunny wore a backless white wide tweed suit with crisp, clean white pants. The look was completed with a long white floral stole, which has camellias all over it. The stole was a brilliant reference to Lagerfeld's work at Fendi, which featured fur stoles.

Conan Gray in custom Balmain

Conan Gray's look by Balmain was a couture reinterpretation of Monsieur Lagerfeld's signature black and white suiting. He was donning an off-the-shoulder high-low tweed jacket with hand-embroidered pearls, a high V-neck collar, and gloves attached to the sleeve. Underneath the coat is a collared white shirt, and black tie with embroidered camellia. The cherry on top of this look was the pearl embellished black fan, a favourite accessory of Karl Lagerfeld.

Nicole Kidman in vintage Chanel

Nicole Kidman wore a design by Karl Lagerfeld. This light pink gown with silver sequins, feathered train, and tulle bow was featured in the 2004 ad for the classic fragrance, Chanel No. 5, starring Kidman herself. It is a beautiful recollection of the working relationship between Kidman and Lagerfeld.

Rihanna in custom Valentino

Rihanna's the one who closed the red carpet for the Met this year. Arriving fashionably late, her look along with her time of arrival referenced the wedding/bridal looks at the end of every Chanel Couture show.  The look, designed by Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, featured a silk faille dress, a 5-metre train with a silk faille cape consisting of 30 camellias, 500 petals, and 25 leaves. The look was constructed by 30 seamstresses. She wore white fingerless gloves, another signature of Lagerfeld.