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In the comfort of one’s own pajamas, does the fashion event of the century occur, the event where we see rich, famous, and gorgeous celebrities appear on a carpet in the middle of the chaotic New York City for a total of 8 minutes just to criticize their outfits on social media. The Met Gala I’m speaking of, of course. As an avid fashionista, my qualifications for this rundown are: I pay a monthly Vogue subscription and am chronically online. Very legitimate. 

The Met Gala happens every first of May starting around 6-7 pm hosted by the Metropolitan Museum located in NYC. Formally called the Costume Institute Benefit or Costume Institute Gala, the event has been going on for decades starting in 1948 and was only attended by high-class New York charitable organizations. Years after, themes were introduced and so were celebrities with designer brands. It’s one of the biggest fundraising events in pop culture history as millions of dollars are put into a single ticket and outfit. With the help of the media, the Met Gala has become a huge event for the youth and those interested in both pop culture and fashion. 

The past few years have come with many disappointed chronically online critics, such as myself. With this year’s Met Gala theme being Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, more disappointment rose up to the surface. Every year is a different theme, a theme that specifies what the dress code is for the attendees. Usually, the theme is as simple as dance or an era of fashion such as gilded glamour. Other times the theme is more of a phrase that designers are told to make of what they think of with what is given such as the 2019 met gala being Camp: Notes on Fashion. This year however is more of a remembrance of a designer who passed back in 2019. Being the icon of Chanel, Chloe, Fendi, and more brand designs the man was honored with the 2023 met gala theme. Which only brought controversy. Karl Lagerfeld, despite being popular in the fashion world, is not exactly loved by people. With controversies over his opinions about fatphobia, racism, classism, and gender inequality it was the scandal of the day. 

However, to the general public, aka those who aren’t fashion addicts, the celebrities and their outfits are the most important. Some fan favorite celebrity looks shared by the media are Rita Ora wearing custom Wiederhoeft, Dua lipa wearing archived Dior, Anok Yai wearing a gorgeous Prabal Gurung dress, Anne Hathaway wearing Versace, Jennie Kim wearing vintage Chanel, Bad Bunny attended wearing Jacquemus, Cardi B wearing three looks all inspired by or from Karl Lagerfelds couture attire and more. 

If you’re confused about how these looks fit the theme, each outfit is either a design from Karl himself or an homage to his signature look. This is a black and white edgy suit look with lots of embedded gems, leather, and pearls. 

A met gala can become viral on its own with just the names. However, in this generation, a grand silly occurrence needs to happen to really put the cherry on the top. Curiosity kills the cat… This is me referring to the cat looks we saw on the champaign carpet. Doja Cat took her stage name to a literal different level and dressed in a custom crystallized creation by Oscar de la Renta and cat prosthetics on her face. The inspo you ask? Karl Largarfelds precious and expensive cat named Choupette. The best part however is that Doja wasn’t the only one with the cat as their inspo. Jared Leto shocks the paparazzi with a realistic fur suit of Choupette. From head to tail, the actor/singer was a walking cat in the heart of NYC. Everything is fashion if it’s a statement. This is a statement, I think…

       In the end, the met gala this year came with success as the media and general public were satisfied with many of the looks brought out. This year may not balance out the past two horrific met gala events but it certainly makes up for what it can cover. Till next May!