Met Gala 2023: Best and Worst Looks From the Red Carpet

The theme for this year’s MET Gala, a fundraiser and *the* fashion event of the year was “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” in honour of the late fashion designer. The legendary designer who passed away in 2019 was one of the most prolific and celebrated fashion designers of all time and has headed some of the biggest fashion houses in the world, including Fendi and Chanel.

The looks on the red carpet paid tribute to his work through the years in the different fashion houses he worked for and his signature style shone through these looks— pearls, the signature Chanel tweed, black and white and other Karl Lagerfeld staples. However, the theme and the resulting looks left much to be desired. The red carpet was almost devoid of colour and while some looks were stellar and some great, many were simply meh and some left us wondering, “huh?” 

Here’s our list of some of the most memorable looks of the night in our books; best, worst and honourable mentions.

Favourite Looks (In No Particular Order)

Kim Kardashian

Kim looked ethereal in her custom Schiaparelli dress covered in white, draped pearls.

Caresha (Yung Miami)

Caresha of the city girls looked amazing at her MET gala debut, a vision in black.

Anok Yai

Anok has shown, year after year, that the MET is her world and we’re all just living in it. 

Dua Lipa 

Dua Lipa looked like a princess in one of Karl’s most iconic looks. Simple, effortless, stunning!

Cardi B

Cardi had 3 looks, each one more amazing than the last. She meant business and she made sure to deliver. All three looks were marvels in their own right. 10/10, no notes. 

Keke Palmer

Keke Palmer looks radiant. Her post-baby glow pairs excellently well with her gorgeous dress.

Honourable Mentions

Tems

Dunsin Wright has done it again. Tems did not miss at her first MET gala and for that, we are thankful.

Jenna Ortega

Jenna was definitely channelling Wednesday in this look. Beautiful and very clearly on theme. Thom Browne looks swept on the red carpet this year, and he more than outdid himself.

Rihanna

As always, Rihanna is MOTHER. With this look, she adds another unforgettable moment to all her other memorable MET Gala moments.

Halle Bailey

It’s hard to go wrong with a face like hers, and her look from her hair to her dress was a combination of evidently, right choices.

Least Favourite Looks (In No Particular Order)

Ice Spice

When we heard Ice Spice would be attending the MET, we were optimistic and excited, however, unfortunately, her look was underwhelming and the fit was off. Could definitely have been better.

Doja Cat

Doja went as Karl Lagerfeld’s cat ‘choupette’ and while we love the idea, the execution, not so much.

Emma Chamberlain

This was… a choice. Not only can we not figure out the inspiration behind the look, the fitting and the look itself left us very confused. 

Kylie Jenner

Kylie’s look was an uncharacteristic flop, it just didn’t feel or look right.

Some of the men also showed out, surprisingly. We saw much more than the plain suits men usually show up in yesterday, a welcome change. Bad Bunny, Diddy, and Brian Tyree Henry for example wore beautiful flowery suits with twists, and they were on theme too. Great job!

Overall, this was definitely one of the more underwhelming years of the MET gala. Maybe it’s the theme or maybe it’s a general lack of creativity, who knows? We’ll admit though, while there were many great looks (but arguably more misses than hits), most were meh and very forgettable, and we’ll take bad over forgettable any day.