The 2023 Coffee Order MET Gala recap
Forcing myself to write this the night of as if I'm getting paid to do so.
I’m known to be an extreme lover of the MET Gala each year.
I care about it more than most things, and certainly make it everyone else’s problem once mid-April rolls around. Today, I feel more excited because I’m in New York, actually living here, during the first Monday in May. There have been celebrity sightings all weekend, pre-gala looks, and will they’s/won’t they’s that have been making my mind spin.
This year’s theme of Karl Lagerfeld made me extremely excited—I knew that the celebrities and designers would feel inspired, I knew it would be a time for iconic archival pieces to be pulled, and it was a lot easier to explain and follow than themes in the past. Anna Wintour herself had a more emotional connection to Karl’s legacy than past themes, and simply put, it just felt promising. Did the looks deliver? Is the MET Gala-shaped hole in my heart full enough to carry me along until next year? Here’s my full analysis of this year’s MET Gala—Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.
MY BEST DRESSED: DUA LIPA
Dua Lipa was the epitome of what a MET Gala Co-Chair should bring. She was perfectly on theme, she was elegant, she was timeless, and she (*her stylist*) was extremely smart. Known for choosing a bride at the end of his shows, an integral part of Karl’s Legacy are these closing looks. Something everyone was excited about was the maximum potential of archive this year, and this dress worn by Claudia Schiffer as the bride during Chanel’s ‘95/’96 Fall show is nothing shy of epic. Amazingly flattering and something I would love to borrow during my own betrothal down the road.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: JENNIE KIM, ANNE HATHAWAY, KARLIE KLOSS, KENDALL JENNER, KIM KARDASHIAN, KATE AND LILA MOSS, AND CAMILA MORRONE
For a MET Gala debut, this is so incredibly chic, extremely on-theme, and only furthers my belief that Jennie Kim is one of the greatest style icons of this generation.
Anne Hathaway’s stylist needs to be protected at all costs. She never misses. As somebody who was wary of what Versace could do this year to follow along, I stand absolutely corrected. The texture. The hair.
Loewe hit this out of the park. Living for Karlie as a ginger. Living for the pregnancy announcement(s). Living for the bow.
I may lose all credibility for posting Kendall on this list but I will do it unapologetically. I love that she chose Marc Jacobs, and I know Karl would love this. She looks 18 feet tall in the best way. Her hair is straight out of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. The bodysuit makes it more fun and occasional than just a regular old black tie event. Bonus points for the side-by-side split screen of her and Bad Bunny by Vogue.com.
I originally wanted to see Kim in Chanel since she was so close with Mr. Lagerfeld, but focusing in on the accessories that made him so iconic—the pearls—felt like a really smart move to me. They’re all real pearls which makes this feel amazingly rich, and this is an unintentional, iconic nod to Kim’s Playboy photoshoot from the early 2000s (pictured right).
I think Camila Morrone is my style icon of 2023, and on the list of people I was most excited to see this year, she was at the top. She has this aura that makes you think she literally was born this cool, and that her incredible taste just comes inherently, which I’m sure it does. Something like this that’s extremely classic but also inventive and unique, unlike anything anyone else was wearing, is just, chef’s kiss.
I loved when people chose to use archival Karl looks that weren’t from Chanel. Fendi, Chloé, and even Karl’s own label were few and far between, but also integral to his legacy. I love this slip dress from Kate juxtaposed with Lila’s youthful, exciting, and fun fur number, true to Fendi’s core, and how they went so well together while still being so different.
MOMENTS I WAS DISAPPOINTED IN: THE CLIP-IN BANG EPIDEMIC, RIHANNA AND ASAP, OLIVIA WILDE, AND CARA DELEVINGNE
Ladies. These clip-in bangs are not fooling anyone. I’m not understanding what about Karl Lagerfeld’s half a decade in the fashion industry screams “CLIP IN BANG!”, but I need to have a personal meeting with these respective glam squads.
BEFORE ANYONE GETS UPSET WITH ME—they look amazing. They’re absolutely serving, they nailed the theme, and I’m obsessed. But what I don’t love is arriving three hours late, when the carpet is done, and coverage has ceased. We needed a Rihanna-arrival moment in its full light, and I’m just sad we didn’t get that.
*Sad tiny violin playing in the distance*.
As Karl’s modern muse, I wished to see Cara in some sort of iconic Chanel runway look. Perhaps as a bride, perhaps one of her first shows, or something that just isn’t…this.
Some people I really missed this year were Dakota Johnson, Timothée Chalamet, Zoë Kravitz, Bella Hadid, and Blake Lively, just to name a few. For some reason this year seemed a bit…empty?
My last thought is that I’m glad the Kardashians stuck it to everyone and proved that they weren’t in fact uninvited. I don’t ever want to live in a society where Kim can’t pull something on us, no matter how un-relatable she may be to me. Hope her and Pete’s run-in went okay!