The First Annual Met Gala Awards

By Lanie Kotler

The first Monday in May is known as one of the biggest nights in fashion. Around 600 celebrities, artists, and industry insiders were invited to honor the late Karl Lagerfeld this year at the 2023 Met Gala. The theme was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, and was supported by the dress code “In honor of Karl.”

Although Karl Lagerfeld was undeniably a talented designer, he was incredibly controversial. He has been criticized for making sexist, racist, and fatphobic comments throughout his career. The choice of theme has made this year’s Met Gala controversial as well. It is important to take Lagerfeld’s character into consideration when watching this event; there is a distinction between honoring a person and honoring their work.

The day after the Met Gala serves one purpose: to pour over the pictures from last night and form opinions on every last look. It is important to recognize those who followed the theme and made an impact on the carpet. Due to Karl’s illustrious career, the guests had over 60 years of inspiration to pull from.

For the first time, WFU Style is giving out honorary “Met Gala Awards” to the attendees. Here the night's 10 most award-worthy looks.

Best Use of Pearls 

Coco Chanel was known for wearing a long strand of faux pearls, which Karl Lagerfeld used as a style code for Chanel’s branding. Many guests incorporated pearls into their looks, such as Lizzo, Karlie Kloss, Kim Kardashian, Serena Williams, and Phoebe Bridgers. However, the award for Best Use of Pearls goes to Kim Kardashian. Her custom gown by Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry contained 50,000 freshwater pearls. This dynamic outfit stood out on the carpet and has blown up on social media. Many people are comparing this outfit to Kim’s infamous Playboy shoot from 2007.

Favorite Train 

There were trains for days this year on the Met Gala red carpet. Stars like Paris Hilton, Bad Bunny, Jeremy Pope, Jennifer Lopez, Doja Cat, and Jenna Ortega sported trains of various lengths, shapes, and colors attached to their outfits. The winner of Favorite Train is Jeremy Pope. The actor wore Balmain—a black jumpsuit with a large cape and train featuring Karl Lagerfeld’s face. The cape was so large Pope needed five people to help him up the steps.

Men’s Standout 

Men’s fashion at the Met Gala has always been a struggle. Most men are weary of straying from the classic tuxedo option. However, this year many men stepped it up. Although some played it safe and dressed as Karl, others were inspired by his designs and wore some truly breathtaking outfits, including Conan Gray, Jeremy Pope, Bad Bunny, and Russel Westbrook. The Men's Standout of the Met Gala this year was Bad Bunny. He stepped out in a sharp white suit by Jacquemus that included a 26 foot long train adorned with Camellias. The icing on the cake is the cutout back with a backwards cross necklace. 

Best First Met 

Although the Met Gala was cluttered with celebrities that have frequented the event for years, we saw some impressive new faces last night. Quinta Brunson, Ice Spice, Jackson Wang, Doja Cat, Belly Ramsey, Yung Miami, Paris Hilton, and Madeline Cline all attended their first Met Gala. The winner for Best First Met is Doja Cat. The singer and rapper wore a hooded gown with cat ears by Oscar de la Renta. Her outfit was inspired by Karl Lagerfeld’s beloved cat, Choupette. Her beautiful gown is incredibly intricate and includes 350,000 white and silver beads. She took her look to the next level with prosthetics giving her face feline features.

Making Karl Proud 

Every year after the Met Gala, the fashion world begins to debate who was on theme and who wasn’t. Many speculated that this year's theme gave guests three options: to wear a Karl Lagerfeld archival look, a new look inspired by Karl, or to dress up as Karl (or his cat) themselves. This year, the theme was much more visible amongst the crowd compared to previous Met Galas. Nicole Kidman, Rachel Brosnahan, Michelle Yeoh, Olivier Rousteing, and Elle Fanning all wore incredible looks that were deeply inspired by Karl. The winner of Making Karl Proud is Michelle Yeoh. The academy award winning actress wore a classic and chic ball gown from Karl’s namesake brand. Her black and white gown emulated the essence of Karl. 

Best Archival Look

Museum curator blank blank told Vogue that he had gone through around 10,000 looks made by Karl when creating the exhibit. The guests of the Met Gala had countless options of archival looks to try on or use as inspiration. Some of the best dressed celebrities—Jennie Kim, Gisele Bundchen, Nicole Kidman, Dua Lipa, and Kristen Stewart—sported archival Chanel looks. The winner of Best Archival Look is pop star and Met Gala co-host Dua Lipa in a tweed wedding gown worn by Claudia Schiffer in the finale of the Fall 1992 Chanel Couture show. She also wore a stunning diamond necklace that is valued at around 10 million dollars. 

Tweed Feature 

When people hear the word Chanel, they think of perfume, pearls, and tweed. The infamous material that has characterized the brand for decades was seen many times on the red carpet. The best tweed looks last night were worn by Jenna Ortega, Anne Hathaway, Jack Harlow, Keke Palmer, and Teyana Taylor, but the winner of Tweed Feature is Anne Hathaway. The actress and new face of Versace was dressed by Donatella Versace, with whom she attended the Met. This stunning white tweed gown features large gold safety pins holding together large cutouts. The look is a beautiful blend of Chanel and Versace aesthetics with the tweed texture as the star. 

Chic Camellias 

Camellias are the iconic flower of Chanel. They are a symbol used in countless Chanel designs. Many guests, including Olivia Rodrigo, Cardi B, Bad Bunny, Rihanna, Sean Diddy, and Liu Wen incorporated the blossoms into their looks. Although each guest showcased Camellias in a unique way, the award for Chic Camellias goes to Rihanna. Although she was incredibly late to the carpet, the world agrees that it was worth the wait. She arrived on the carpet with Asap Rocky in a Valentino Haute Couture dress with a cape covered in 30 giant Camellia flowers. Her dazzling outfit has left the internet buzzing ever since. 

Beautiful Bride 

Karl Lagerfeld was known for his famous Chanel brides. His bride would be the last in every show and some of his most iconic and famous looks. The best bridal looks of the evening were worn by Dua Lipa, Penelope Cruz, Gisele Bundchen, Alia Bhatt, Alton Mason, Halle Bailey, Elle Fanning, and Ava Max. The winner of Beautiful Bride is Penelope Cruz. Cruz is a Chanel ambassador and a Met Gala co-chair, and she wore a Chanel wedding dress from the couture 1988 show. Her radiant look will be one to remember. 

The Showstopper 

Every year at the Met Gala there is one unexpected showstopper—a guest that is not known for their Met Gala looks, at least not yet. Some unexpected showstoppers this year were Jenna Ortega, Aubrey Plaza, Anok Yai, Emma Chamberlain, Teyana Taylor, and Jared Leto. The winner for this year’s Showstopper is Anok Yai. This model turned heads in her fabulous gown by Prabal Gurung. She was also praised for her glowing, luminous skin adding to her look. Anok Yai is now a model to watch.