Celebrities Honor Alexander McQueen at 2011 Met Gala

All hail McQueen! On the heels of the royal wedding extravaganza where bride Kate Middleton (a.k.a. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) donned a custom-made lace gown by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, a fashionable A-list crowd including Blake Lively (in Chanel Haute Couture), Ryan Seacrest and Julianne Hugh (both in Burberry) and Madonna (in Stella McCartney) stepped out to pay tribute to the designer Lee Alexander McQueen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala in New York. The theme of this year's gala was "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty," which included an exhibit featuring some of the most spectacular and intricately detailed couture creations ranging from romantic to gothic by the late designer. "It’s meant to evoke a gothic fairy tale," curator Andrew Bolton, who displayed the designs in six different parts, told Style.com.

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Actor Colin Firth, who co-chaired the evening with Vogue editor Anna Wintour and Stella McCartney, was the first celebrity to hit the red carpet in a dapper-looking Tom Ford tuxedo with his producer wife Livia Giuggioli. Penelope Cruz (in Oscar de la Renta), Jennifer Lopez (in Gucci) and Jessica Alba (in Ralph Lauren) also walked the red carpet. Some of the evening's standout styles included Zoe Saldana's simple, yet elegant canary yellow Calvin Klein gown, Gwyneth Paltrow's shimmery nude column by designer pal Stella McCartney and Dakota Fanning's floral Valentino tulle gown (unlike Michelle Williams' Golden Globe daisies, this one worked!).

The new Duchess didn't make an appearance, but the evening's glamour-packed red carpet was lined with Hollywood royalty wearing show-stopping looks by the late designer, plus the British fashion house's current creative director Burton in her own design. Sarah Jessica Parker and Gisele Bundchen both donned McQueen. Parker, who arrived with Bravo's Andy Cohen, attended the 2006 Met Gala with McQueen in his tartan plaid design.

Rumors continue to swirl as to whether Middleton's wedding dress will be flown over from London before the exhibit opens to the public May 4. The palace recently released a statement saying, "The Duchess of Cambridge is considering a number of options to give members of the public the opportunity to see close up the skilled British craftsmanship that went into the making of her wedding dress."