Johannesburg – It was the first Monday in May yesterday which meant that it was fashion’s biggest night out at the annual Met Gala.
This saw celebrities, designers and high-profile media executives gather at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for the yearly fundraising gala, affectionately known as the Met Ball.
The event, organised by Vogue magazine’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, is a who’s who in style, fashion and influence.
And this year’s highly-anticipated red carpet did not disappoint as attendees lent their own artistic and stylish interpretations of this year’s theme, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”, a tribute to the late designer, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 85.
He is widely credited with having revitalised Chanel as the fashion house's long-time creative director.
Here are this year’s weird and wonderful red carpet Met Gala looks.
Rihanna
Rihanna made a fashionably late entrance in floral masterpiece, a custom Maison Valentino look that featured a five-metre train and 30 camelias made of 500 petals.
The pregnant star arrived last on the red carpet with partner A$AP Rocky, who wore Gucci, a look inspired by Karl Lagerfeld himself.
Jared Leto
Jared Leto looked like the pick of the litter during Monday’s Met Gala and proved to have one of the night’s most memorable looks as he prowled down the red carpet wearing an elaborate cat costume.
The actor donned a hyper-realistic fursuit in honour of Lagerfeld’s beloved Birman, Choupette.
At first, Met Gala watchers couldn’t tell which celebrity was hiding under the cartoonish head, which had giant glassy blue eyes, long whiskers and delicately tufted ears.
The actor has been one of the Met’s most daring dressers over the years.
Lil Nas X
The Grammy-winning musician took the naked dressing trend to a whole new level when he showed up to the Met Gala in nothing but a metallic thong, silver body paint and jewels.
He took it to the next level with a matching bejewelled eye mask and manicure. The rapper has long been known for breaking boundaries with his inimitable sense of style.
Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa stunned at The Met Gala in a 1992 fall collection Chanel dress, as worn by Claudia Schiffer. This was a fitting tribute to Lagerfeld who designed the original garment in the early 90s. The “Levitating” songstress exuded royalty in the white gown featuring a figure-hugging corset bodice with a low neckline, plus a full skirt with pockets and trimmed in tassels.
Lipa accessorised her look — styled by Lorenzo Posocco — with a massive Tiffany & Co. diamond necklace that weighed in at more than 200 carats. She also added a 9-carat ring for the occasion as well.
Jenna Ortega
Ortega channelled her inner Wednesday Addams as her Thom Browne ensemble was goth-glam perfection. The star of Netflix's Wednesday arrived at this year's event in a garment which featured a black corset top with an enormous ruffled skirt featuring distressed edges extending into a long train. Layers added texture while nodding to the evening's dress code, "in honour of Karl"—a sheer, bow-tied blouse underneath a corset, and a tweed bolero jacket to top it all off.