Michaela Coel, one of this year’s Met Gala co-chairs, anointed the carpet in a gilded, chocolate brown gown by Schiaparelli Couture, a continuation of her collaborative relationship with the fashion house, as she’s recently been seen in several of their looks.
“We can see the homages to Karl here in the chain and in the loops and the pearls. It’s a collaboration between my stylist Georgia [Medley] and [Schiaparelli designer] Daniel [Roseberry],” Coel said of her sheer dress. “I’m just like a total tourist in this industry. I’m here to serve and I’m here to honor their creative vision. I wanted to have a little gold, and he created like this second skin. There’s 130,000 crystals, 26,000 mixed stones, and over 3,800 hours of work to make this dress.”
Related Stories
The actress and screenwriter, who was pictured in a sequined, lime green Gucci gown on the cover of Vogue‘s November 2022 issue, said she “couldn’t help but have the question in the back of my mind” of why she was chosen by Anna Wintour as one of the 2023 Met Gala co-chairs. So, Coel asked her.
“I felt a strange sense of peace because yesterday I was at the pre-dinner and Anna said … what I like about you is that you are unafraid to be yourself and Karl — her dear friend [and] fashion icon — she felt his journey was to try and learn to be unafraid of being himself,” Coel shared. “So she felt like he would like that about me, and suddenly I just felt very much at ease about being here.”
The Met Gala, held as the annual fundraiser for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, has been organized and presided over by Wintour since 1995. It is timed to coincide with the unveiling of the museum’s annual fashion exhibition and this year’s is focused on Karl Lagerfeld. Titled Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, the collection honors the life and legendary career of the late designer who passed away on Feb. 19, 2019, and features more than 150 pieces including sketches.
The dress code simply reads “In honor of Karl,” leaving it mostly up for interpretation for the stars attending — and their stylists.
The Met Gala program features Penélope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, and Vogue’s Wintour as the night’s co-chairs.
See all the best looks from 2023 Met Gala red carpet here.
