6 biggest highlights from the 2023 Met Gala: from Kim Kardashian’s Playboy throwback, fashionably late Rihanna and Jared Leto’s hilarious cat suit, to Serena Williams and Karlie Kloss’ pregnancy news

May 2 , 2023

Kim Kardashian wore a Playboy throwback look with pearls, Jared Leto showed up in a cat suit and Karlie Kloss revealed her pregnancy at the Met Gala, fashion’s biggest night in the US. Photos: EPA-EFE, AFP, Reuters

This year’s Met Gala dress code was ‘in honour of Karl Lagerfeld’ and celebrities showed off dazzling fashion in response, but where were Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Zendaya and Taylor Swift?

Jared Leto showed up in a cat suit while Doja Cat wore a prosthetic feline nose to pay homage to the German designer’s pet Choupette, while Serena Williams and Karlie Kloss showed off their baby bumps

The Met Gala is undoubtedly fashion’s biggest night of the year, and like every other year, there wasn’t a dull moment at this year’s Karl Lagerfeld-themed event.

Here are six highlights from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute this year, from the glamorous to the not-so-glam, plus those who were absent.

1. Kim Kardashian’s Playboy throwback

Kim Kardashian arrives on the red carpet for the 2023 Met Gala, the annual benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, in New York, US, on May 1. Photo: EPA-EFE

Kim Kardashian arrived at the 2023 Met Gala literally dripping in pearls, drawing an uncanny resemblance to the “look” she wore during her 2007 Playboy cover photo shoot.

Kim Kardashian’s Playboy cover shoot in 2007. Photo: Handout

The reality TV icon has sported many bold and daring looks in the past but for this year’s event, she wore a taupe Schiaparelli gown that was covered in pearls from head to toe. Kardashian told Vogue that the pearls were a tribute to the iconic late designer Lagerfeld, whose fashion legacy was celebrated on Monday night.

Kim Kardashian’s Schiaparelli gown’s pearls at the 2023 Met Gala were supposed to pay tribute to the late designer Karl Lagerfeld. Photo: AFP

“This year I just wanted to feel glamorous. I really didn’t feel the pressure,” Kardashian told Vogue on the red carpet, adding that her eldest daughter, North West, was in the car watching her family walk the red carpet.

Kendall Jenner shared that she owes a lot to Karl Lagerfeld at the 2023 Met Gala. Photo: EPA-EFE

In a separate interview with her younger sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Kardashian said it was an “emotional” night celebrating Lagerfeld, who she noted did her first-ever fashion shoot.