How stars’ black and white theme summoned spirit of Karl Lagerfeld at a glittering Met Gala

The first Monday in May is a special one in the fashion world. It’s Met Gala time — the fashion extravaganza that sees the world’s best-dressed come together at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ostensibly, the event is a fundraising one. But really, it’s a chance for the world to stop, stare and pass judgment on what some of the highest-paid stars have chosen to wear. What they choose to wear, by the way, is not up for grabs.

Each year the gala, which has been chaired by Vogue’s Anna Wintour since 1995, decides on a theme that feels timely. These have included ‘camp’ and ‘Catholicism’, or honoured key designers, such as Gianni Versace in 1997.

This year’s, however, was dedicated to one of fashion’s legends: the late Karl Lagerfeld. The German designer was most famous for helming Chanel from 1983 until his death in 2019, aged 85. But he was equally recognised for his work as creative director of Fendi, Chloe and his eponymous label Karl Lagerfeld.

Though I never met Lagerfeld, I saw him on many occasions, notably when he came out at the end of each fashion show to take a bow. It was said he was cold and imperious, but Chanel under him never felt that way to me.

Daisy Edgar-Jones attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty exhibition on May 1, 2023, in New York City

When I edited Cosmopolitan magazine, a brand that hardly screamed luxury fashion, I was invited to every single Chanel show; though I was never able to afford as much as a Chanel brooch, here I was within mere metres of some of the most beautiful clothes known to womankind. Years later, as editor of Elle, I attended his memorial, where the sheer diversity of the attendees was a reminder that Lagerfeld was not always quite what he seemed.

By his own admission, he was a larger-than-life caricature who understood the complexity of fashion (‘Fashion is a train that waits for nobody’), as well as its power.

He wore the same signature outfit for most of his life: leather gloves, a black tie, white shirt, black trousers and a powdered ponytail straight out of the court of Versailles. And his designs were just as iconic: tweed, ribbons, corsets, pearls . . .

For the gala’s attendees, therefore, there was much to be inspired by, making for one of the most fascinating years in Met Gala history.

Hollywood star Anne Hathaway dazzled in white tweed. Actresses Daisy Edgar-Jones and Emily Blunt embraced his love of a corsage. Reality star Kim Kardashian positively dripped with pearls. Everyone was a vision in monochrome.

But just as you started to think how serious and high fashion this all seemed, there was one recurring theme that put a smile on everyone’s face: Lagerfeld’s cat, and the love of his life, Choupette.

Several stars honoured the white Birman, including musician Doja Cat, who donned facial prosthetics and kitten ears. The only person who outshone her? Actor Jared Leto, who wore a giant Choupette costume. It was, I think, something Karl would have been proud of.

TWEED

Nothing is quite so Chanel as monochrome tweed. During his time at Chanel, Lagerfeld used tweed on everything from jackets and dresses to handbags, shoes, even sunglasses and trainers. Actress Anne Hathaway wore an updated take on Liz Hurley’s Versace ‘safety pin’ dress from the 1990s, showing that it can also have serious sex appeal. 

Anne Hathaway attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2023

FEATHERS

Many actresses chose to ignore animal rights charity PETA’s warning to the Met Gala’s committee that feathers were as cruel as fur. Nicole Kidman led the downy charge in a blush pink gown that Lagerfeld designed for her in 2004, and which she wore for the Chanel perfume ad directed by Baz Luhrmann. Florence Pugh made her Met Gala debut with a sky-high feathery Valentino headpiece, which accentuated her new, jaw-dropping, buzzcut. Controversial? Sure. But feathers featured in so much of Lagerfeld’s work, especially at Fendi. And if there’s one thing Lagerfeld was arguably more famous for than fashion, it was controvers 

Florence Pugh The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Benefit, celebrating the opening of the Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty exhibition, Arrivals, New York, on May 1, 2023

PEARLS

Gabrielle Chanel, the brand’s founder, famously always wore strands of faux pearls, which Lagerfeld paid careful homage to throughout his career at the fashion house. It’s fitting, then, that some of the Met Gala’s key players chose pearls as their theme. While announcing her second pregnancy on the red-ish carpet (it was more cream, red and blue), tennis player Serena Williams looked elegant in Gucci with a pearl headband and a waterfall of pearls around her neck.

But, as per usual, Kim Kardashian stole the show in a Schiaparelli number, which was one part corset and bra, and nine parts pearls. Rumour has it the outfit was made of 50,000 freshwater pearls.

Serena Williams The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Benefit, celebrating the opening of the Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty exhibition, Arrivals, New York, on May 1, 2023

CORSAGE 

The white camellia is one of Chanel’s most enduring emblems. Lagerfeld put Gabrielle Chanel’s favourite flower on everything from headpieces to jewellery. At the Met Gala, actresses Daisy Edgar-Jones, in a Gucci two-piece, and Emily Blunt, in sequinned trousers and a billowing train by Michael Kors, finished their looks with a camellia bow. Singer Rihanna, meanwhile, wore a cream Valentino cape covered with oversized corsages. 

Emily Blunt attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2023 in New York City

CORSETS 

Even though Gabrielle Chanel famously freed women from the corset, Lagerfeld was a fan of the shape-enhancing undergarment. Consequently, it was one of the hottest looks at the Met Gala. Hollywood star Margot Robbie perhaps did it most elegantly, which is unsurprising since she was the last Chanel ambassador to have been hand-picked by Lagerfeld. Her dress, which featured a see-through corset and boning made from Chanel’s iconic chain-woven straps, was based on a gown made for the label’s spring/ summer 1993 collection. Hot on her heels in the elegance department, however, was Emily In Paris star Lily Collins who wore a custom Vera Wang dress with an ivory, lingerie-inspired corset. But it was the fact that she had the word ‘KARL’ stitched into her hem that made the real statement of the night.

Lily Collins The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Benefit, celebrating the opening of the Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty exhibition, Arrivals, Fashion Highlights, New York, on May 1, 2023

Margot Robbie attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2023 in New York City