Met Gala 2023: Doja Cat and Jared Leto present Lagerfeld-inspired looks

We were expecting a slew of tributes to Karl Lagerfeld at Monday’s Met Gala in New York. What we didn’t expect was to see so many tributes to his cat.

For this year’s theme, A-list guests were asked to dress in honor of the German fashion designer, who passed away at the age of 85 in 2019.

Lagerfeld served as Chanel’s creative director from 1983 until his death — and many Met Gala attendees chose to wear classics from the French fashion house in his honor.

But others preferred to point out the German designer’s beloved cat Choupette, which has been as synonymous with Lagerfeld’s signature look as his sunglasses and white-haired ponytail.

Choupette herself unfortunately didn’t attend the event, the biggest night on the fashion calendar, but she did send her apologies in an Instagram post.

“Many people invited me to walk the red carpet at the Met Gala in honor of my father (Lagerfeld), but we preferred to stay home in peace,” said the cat.

“We pay tribute to my father every day since he passed away and we are very moved to see one more day dedicated to him.”

Here are some of the most eye-catching outfits from this year’s Met Gala.

When your stage name is Doja Cat, and you’re asked to pay homage to a man who loved his cat, your red carpet look really takes care of itself.

The American rapper did not disappoint, wearing a gown that featured cat ears, while sporting facial prostheses to give her more cat-like features.

Her sparkly silver dress was designed by Oscar de la Renta and featured a sexy ruffled train, which she accessorized with some equally gorgeous jewelry.

We’ve all had one of those awkward moments when you show up to work and find that you’re wearing an outfit that doesn’t match one of your co-workers.

So we sympathize with Irish actor Barry Keoghan and Nigerian singer Burna Boy, who donned strikingly blue checkered Burberry outfits to the Met Gala.

To be fair, they both looked flamboyant, homage to the male stars who eschew the standard black tuxedo on the red carpet in favor of a splash of color.

Covered in shiny silver body paint and jewelry and wearing matching metallic thongs, the rapper appeared in one of the most ambitious and unusual outfits of the night.

Upon closer inspection, fans discovered that his bejeweled eye mask also features embroidered whiskers — another possible nod to Lagerfeld’s cat.

While Ortega wore a bright pink Valentino dress to last year’s Met Gala, this time she went with a scarier, more gothic vibe.

Her dark ensemble suits Lagerfeld’s aesthetic, but also reverses Ortega’s starring role on Wednesday, a huge hit for Netflix’s The Addams Family.

Ortega recently told InStyle that playing the character has influenced her personal style. “I think Wednesday changed my taste a lot,” she said. “I have a hard time getting it out of me, at least as far as the clothes are concerned.”

Actor Jared Leto can always be counted on to pull off some of the craziest looks at the Met Gala — but he really outdid himself this year.

The Oscar winner appeared dressed as a cat. That’s it. There isn’t much we can say.

We’re lucky he decided to decapitate his giant cat during a photoshoot — or we may never have known it was him.

The hottest rising star in music just made her Met Gala debut this year, so she understandably wanted to remember every moment.

Perhaps unaware of the invention of the smartphone, the 23-year-old brought out her bejeweled camera to take pictures (and complement her custom Balmain outfit).

According to TMZ, the New York rapper was personally invited to the Met Gala by Anna Wintour, who asked her to appear as a guest on Vogue.

The singer and actress frankly looked stunning in her mismatched black and white Thom Browne coat, which she later removed to reveal a sheer, badminton-style dress.

“It was the first Met Gala in 2011, and I went with Karl (Lagerfeld). So it comes full circle for us to honor him,” Monáe told People.

Monáe is outfitted with a quilted cat bag in white leather – another nod to Choupette.

The costume, which may have explicitly referred to Lagerfeld, was worn by actor Jeremy Pope.

The Hollywood star lit up the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s grand staircase in a huge cape adorned with the designer’s iconic face.

The 30-foot-long cape featured a hand-drawn illustration by Lagerfeld, and is said to have been made by 70 seamstresses, with over 5,000 yards of silk chiffon.

Although best known for hits like Lazy, singer David Byrne may have been the only guest who showed up looking ready to do some rehearsal.

The Scottish-born star brought his bike with him — but wisely decided to hit it up on the red carpet, which we imagine came as a relief to the Met’s health and safety team.

Byrne had an all-white uniform—which must have gotten muddy when he was supposed to travel home—with some brightly colored coaches.

You might recognize the monochromatic suit, because it’s the same suit Byrne wore when he performed the theme song to Everything Everywhere Every Time at the Oscars in March.

We’ve all been there. You try to change your bedsheets yourself, lose every corner of it, and end up in a right old tangle.

Actress Glenn Close arrived at the Met Gala looking like she was still trying to figure it all out, so she decided to bring her entire bed cover with her.

Her flowy gown was, in fact, a custom Erdem dress. “Like any great fashion designer, he has a passion for creating something beautiful and special,” the actress said of the designer.

The Australian actresses both praised Lagerfeld for their choice of dresses and shared their memories of the designer.

Kidman wore a pale pink dress adorned with 3,000 silver crystals created by Lagerfeld for the Chanel No. 5 advertisement in which she starred.

“I’m so grateful to be wearing it,” Kidman told the Associated Press. “He’s been a huge part of my life, and so has his entire team. He’s kind of nurtured me… in terms of my love of fashion.”

Meanwhile, Robbie made it clear that she was the last Chanel ambassador chosen by Lagerfeld. She said it was an “honour” to wear the 1993 black Chanel dress that Cindy Crawford first wore on the runway.

The American theater producer may not be a household name, but he has consistently made interesting appearances at the Met Gala.

This year, Schiaparelli designer Daniel Rosebery transformed Ruth into a human fan for the evening.

In an article for Vogue, Roth explained that the outfit was a tribute to the signature accessory that Lagerfeld would often carry with him.

“The fan is a form that morphs, has a function in addition to decoration, and has an inherent movement,” Roth explained. “It requires you to be lively and energetic, as an extension of your own body.”

The singer wore a black lace floral gown by Irish designer Simone Rocha.

“I was inspired by Billie herself, her talent, her worldliness, and her strong femininity,” Rocha said of creating Eilish’s custom look. “I wanted to celebrate her femininity through fragility and strength.”

The star was accompanied by her brother and musical collaborator Finneas, who dressed casually, wearing a textured brown coat tied at the waist.

The British actress donned a strapless white Valentino gown, but everyone’s attention was firmly fixed on her head.

First, because Bog was wearing a hood that looked like it would be useful for removing cobwebs from the ceiling.

But also because Pugh’s appearance confirmed the recent rumors, she shaved off her hair for a role in an upcoming movie.

“I’ve actually had it for about three weeks now,” she told reporters of her shaved head. “I thought, What better way than to fire him up at The Met?”

The British singer walked the red carpet with her partner, film director Taika Waititi, wearing reported $90,000 (£72,000) Buccellati jewels.

It included a pearl bracelet and long diamond extensions dangling from the end of her nails.

Waititi wore a metallic Prabal Gurung jacket, which he wore without a shirt, and smart white trousers.

Kendall Jenner wore a sparkly, long-sleeved dress that efficiently doubled as a train. The entire outfit, including the towering black shoes, was designed by Marc Jacobs.

But there was also a nod to Lagerfeld in her outfit — Jenner’s high white collar was a nod to the one worn by the late fashion designer.

Williams showed off her baby bump in a long-sleeved dress with a V-neckline, which she paired with pearl necklaces.

Writing on Instagram, Williams said she was “thrilled when Anna Wintour invited all three of us to the Met Gala.”

Her pregnancy wasn’t the only red carpet reveal — supermodel Karlie Kloss also announced that she’s expecting her second child with husband Joshua Kushner.

“I’ve got a plus-one, don’t tell anyone,” Kloss joked in a Vogue red carpet interview. “You know, this is also my first time sharing my news, so it is very special.”

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