The first Monday in May is arguably one of fashion’s biggest nights—when the Metropolitan Museum of Art‘s Costume Institute celebrates its spring exhibition with a viral splash. This year’s exhibition, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, focuses on the late designer’s wide breadth of work, spanning from the 1950s until his final collection in 2019 for brands like Fendi, Chloé, and most famously, Chanel.
It follows, then, that the Met Gala‘s red carpet would be dotted with celebrities in Lagerfeld’s past designs, sometimes reaching into their own archives for the looks. Nicole Kidman re-wore a feathered couture gown she first wore in a Baz Luhrmann–directed 2004 advertisement for Chanel No. 5, while Marion Cotillard walked the red carpet in a Chanel Couture dress she wore to the 2008 BAFTAs.
Still others opted for custom gowns inspired by archive designs, like Margot Robbie in a recreation of a dress worn by Cindy Crawford on the Chanel Spring/Summer 1993 runway, or Lizzo in a gown referencing a Chanel Fall/Winter 1991 look modeled by Linda Evangelista. Below, see PALMER’s edit of all the best vintage Lagerfeld designs from the 2023 Met Gala red carpet.
