The Best Dressed Stars at the 2023 Met Gala

When the theme of the Met Gala centers Karl Lagerfeld, there’s plenty of material to mine for inspiration. That fact rang true from the moment the very first celebrity hit the red carpet at the Costume Institute’s 2023 gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, celebrating its latest exhibition “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.” Archival gowns from Chanel were well-represented—in addition to homages to Choupette (Chloe Fineman’s purse; Doja Cat’s entire look, prosthetic makeup included; Jared Leto, the human furry), plays on fingerless gloves, black satin bows (in Karlie Kloss’s hair, and at the base of Sydney Sweeney’s mauve mermaid gown) and, of course, tons of black and white. But our favorite looks from the night came with personal stories. Nicole Kidman arrived on the Met steps wearing a light pink gown covered in ostrich feathers, crystals, and sequins that she wore for “Chanel N. 5, the film,” an advertisement for the fragrance directed by Baz Luhrmann. Co-chair Dua Lipa donned a white tweed princess gown from Chanel’s fall 1992 haute couture collection first worn on the runway by Lagerfeld muse Claudia Schiffer. And Penelope Cruz, wearing a look from Lagerfeld’s 1988 Chanel haute couture collection, was the picture-perfect bride. See all of our favorite looks from the red carpet here.