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Best And Worst Dressed Celebrities At The 2023 Met Gala

The official culmination of spring has arrived, and it’s about to dominate your news feed. Many a celebrity attended the Met Gala tonight, but only a select few set the plot line for the week.

By Julie Drake3 min read
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Getty/Jamie McCarthy

Some of the most memorable fashion events in history have occurred at the Met Gala. From Kim Kardashian’s all black look in 2021, to Blake Lively’s 2022 color-changing wonder, Met Gala fashion never fails to surprise and delight, and this year was no exception.

A-list celebrities descended on New York’s most famous museum in celebration of one of their (most well-known) own: Karl Lagerfeld. The theme of this year’s gala was “in honor of Karl,” the unparalleled fashion designer who passed away in 2019. The Met Gala kicks off The Costume Institute’s Spring 2023 exhibition, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.” Lagerfeld’s legacy includes his work for preeminent fashion maisons like Balmain, Chloé, Fendi, Chanel, and his own eponymous brand. Lagerfeld was known for speaking his mind, even when his opinions were unpopular. A controversial figure to be sure, but whatever your opinion of him was, his influence on the fashion world is unsurpassed. 

Without further ado, and speaking of controversial opinions indeed, here’s our take on the best and worst dressed of the night:

Best Dressed

Dua Lipa

It would be physically impossible for us not to include a look that includes a 100-carat diamond necklace. Add a vintage (Lagerfeld-designed) Chanel bridal gown, and here we are, on Le Best Dressed. Dua Lipa looks sparkly, gorgeous, and ready to walk down the aisle as a duo or a solo, honestly, because I’m pretty sure that necklace could take the place of any significant other.

Imaan Hammam

No description is needed other than celestial goddess extraordinaire. Truly. Imaan, we fall at your very fashionable feet.

Adut Akech

The epitome of beauty and grace in custom Carolina Herrera. Adut’s is one of those looks that takes your breath away, and, we fear, may not give it back.

Gisele Bundchen

Hearkening to her angel days via Victoria’s Secret, Gisele looks like she’s just touched down from heaven in vintage Chanel. Divine. Diaphanous. Post-Tom Brady split Gisele is clearly doing just fine.

Nicole Kidman

Light as a feather and just as unique, this look takes us back to Chanel No. 5 circa 2004. With 250 pink feathers and 3,000 sequins, this dress is exquisite and deserves an exhibit all its own.

Sydney Sweeney

Sydney Sweeney’s style is quickly becoming one of our faves. She is unafraid to embrace her femininity and always looks like the pretty queen she is. The black bow touches really put this look over the top.

Jessica Chastain

Jessica who? That’s right, fangirls. C’est Jessica Chastain, as a blonde, in ruffled black Gucci, and we are not well. For those looking for lessons in completely shutting down the red carpet, take notes.

Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa looks all grown up and fully in her sophisticated glamor era. And we are furiously googling ways to recreate this look for the next time we run into an on-again off-again bae that’s got a hold on our heart. “It’s complicated” dress, anyone?

Worst Dressed

Ariana DeBose

Love her so much and genuinely applaud the creativity, but a bomber just feels a little casual for the Met Gala.

Finneas O’Connell

I’m just not sure it all goes, you know?

Jeremy Strong

Not sure about a ‘fit involving a dangly neon choker which looks like it may have been stolen from a child’s junk drawer on your way out the door. But points for ingenuity.

Amber Valletta

Not our favorite look with the naked dress take and the feathers, but you’ve got to hand it to someone who still looks tres snackable despite the dressing.

Kristen Stewart

Truly generally love Kristen’s style, but this look was a bit of a miss for us. The silhouette doesn’t lend any favors to her gorgeous physique, and the pants feel like they’re not the right cut.

Lil Nas X

This look appears to have climbed off a barnacled sea creature from Pirates of the Caribbean. If I were Lil Nas, I would hide about the Gala – still as a statue – and jump out at unsuspecting passersby from time to time. In which case, and only in which case, I would applaud this sartorial choice.

Jared Leto

Our only disappointment in this look comes from it not being the real thing.

Try as they might, no celeb could eclipse the “Met Gala’s most anticipated guest”: Lagerfeld’s beloved cat, Choupette. Though invited to attend as a most honored guest, she politely declined, because, as relayed on Instagram, she “preferred to stay peacefully & cozy at home.”

A white Birman rumored to be worth millions, she no doubt would have been the actual “best dressed” of the night. In an interview with Numero magazine, Lagerfeld said of Choupette, “I like being calm, and my cat is a presence that counts but isn't encumbering. She is peaceful, funny, fun, and gracious… but her main quality is that she doesn't talk." And that, my friends, is why we all need a cat. And while that’s it for the 2023 Met Gala, may we all now dream of Choupette, as sweetly as Karl Lagerfeld surely does from his heavenly place in the Fashion Hall of Fame.