Anna Wintour and Bill Nighy confirm their relationship at the Met Gala 2023

Most years at the Met Gala, we have to wait for the red carpet procession to reach its crescendo before we see the night’s biggest celebrity talking points.

Fashion’s annual costume ball builds up from the early arrivals (Vogue staffers and lesser known designers) to the A-listers in their camera-thirsty attire (think Rihanna in papal couture, or Katy Perry dressed as a working chandelier).

Yet this year one of the most interesting appearances came first. The night’s inimitable host, Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour, publicly confirmed her relationship with Bill Nighy, the genteel British actor. Her arm linked sweetly in his and her perma-sunglasses notably off, the couple (sort of) smiled for the cameras and, for just a moment, the stylish septuagenarians had the spotlight.

Read our interview: Anna Wintour on Karl Lagerfeld, Kim Kardashian and the biggest enemy of the Met Gala 

Alas, within minutes, the actress Penelope Cruz arrived wearing a Chanel wedding dress and veil. Swiftly the clickbait fashion spectacle began.

Each year the dress code of the Met Gala corresponds with the theme of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s costume exhibition. In recent years, it’s been easy to fudge it. When the dress code was America: An Anthology of Fashion, interpretations varied from dressing up as US monuments, to simply wearing American designers. Particularly vague, too, was About Time: Fashion and Duration. Even after the event, most still didn’t know what it meant.

But this year’s theme was a brass tack; Karl Lagerfeld: Line of Beauty. Attendees should honour the late Karl Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, and his six decade career working at Chanel, Fendi, Chloe as well as his own label.

Could they all get it right, just this once? As ever, the approaches varied dramatically. Some opted for a literal interpretation, dressing as Lagerfeld, or his almost equally-famous cat, Choupette. Others took some of Lagerfeld’s design emblems - quilting, chains, monochrome - and ran with them. The ultimate flex, though, was to wear something sentimental that Karl had given to you personally, or to re-wear an old vintage piece you still have knocking around in your archive.

Here’s who did it right on the night…

The Karl copycats

Dressing in Karl drag was an understandably popular choice - this is a costume ball, after all. Karl’s look has been immortalised to the point where you can buy his Halloween costume for under £20 from Amazon. But Gigi Hadid and Cara Delevingne went for more subtle nods to the kaiser, in his signature fingerless black leather gloves. Others like Cardi B tackled his white collar and tie combo.

And then there were the literal copycats - tributes to Lagerfeld’s beloved moggy Choupette, who is rumoured to have inherited the late designer’s vast fortune. Pop star Doja Cat, appropriately, was the top cat on the catwalk in an Oscar de la Renta gown. Jared Leto’s version came later, but fell short as a football mascot.

Here come the Chanel brides

Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel couture shows famously closed with a bridal look - typically modelled by his star of the season. Penelope Cruz went all in with her outfit, borrowing a complete look with the veil, while Dua Lipa wrangled a Claudia Schiffer-modelled 1992 couture bridal gown. The bride tribe was completed by Gisele, who reinterpreted a 2007 couture wedding dress, and Elle Fanning, who carried a bouquet of daisies, honouring an early 2010s photoshoot with Lagerfeld during which he placed a daisy crown on her head.

Monochrome rules

Lagerfeld’s strict monochrome palette was adhered to by most, but plenty of guests had fun with their interpretations. Florence Pugh’s white Valentino gown was topped with a black feathered headdress. Anne Hathaway wore a tweed gown by Versace, and both Aubrey Plaza and Margot Robbie reworked Chanel’s signature chains as detailing on their bodices.

If you must wear colour…

While Lagerfeld’s beloved monochrome reigned, some remembered that he did have a soft spot for blush. “When he designed, Karl always loved to see me in the palest of pink,” Nicole Kidman boasted as she arrived, wearing the same couture dress as she did in 2004 when she starred in the designer’s Chanel No. 5 perfume advert. Kate Moss and daughter Lila followed this trend in Fendi, as did Jennifer Lopez in Ralph Lauren satin. Naomi Campbell, meanwhile, wrangled a 2010 couture Chanel dress from the house’s archives.

Pearls, please

“I wanted to be dripping in pearls,” Kim Kardashian said as she arrived, tangled in a full body web by Schiaparelli. She wasn’t the only one - Lizzo, Karlie Kloss and Kerry Washington were all embellished with strands. While some made pearls their whole look, others used it as an entry point to gently nod to the theme - see Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz Beckham in their ‘his and hers’ matching pearl chokers.