May 1, 20233 min read

Let It Begin…MET 2023

By Erin Moonyeen Haley

With every minute that goes by, Vogue is posting photos and updating its website, feeding the voracious appetites of fashion lovers across the globe as stars walk the red carpet for the MET's ode to Karl Lagerfeld. With La La Anthony, Derek Blasberg, Chloe Fineman, and special correspondent Emma Chamberlain chatting up every fashion maven that walks by, it is clear that a nuanced elegance is the mood of the gala. Ballerina pinks and snowy whites are the dominant colors, upscaled with chandelier skirts of silvery droplets that, in turn, shimmy alongside gowns that feature sculpted rosettes and subtle cutouts edged and pleated with gold.

La La Anthony channels a 1990s starlet who accents solid colors with the delicacies of gold chains. She wears a white gown by Sergio Hudson that creates a dramatic silhouette from shoulder to toe. The dainty gold chains add subtle sparkle, as do her retro, cat's-eye sunglasses studded with pearlescent beads.

SNL comedian and pixie starlet Chloe Fineman wears a strawberries-and-cream gown complete with hand-embroidered glass beads and a sweeping neckline of rosettes sculpted from organza and tulle. The look is a concoction by Wiederhoeft.

The Grande Dame of the fete arrives on the arm of virtuoso Bill Nighy.

Rapper Ice Spice (neé Isis Naija Gaston) makes her red carpet debut in a Balmain gown that is both fitted and sheer and that flaunts her cranberry-red locks that stream down her back in mermaid perfection.

Veteran actor Wendell Pierce keeps it dapper in a dark suit and an azure silk pinstripe tie.

Penelope Cruz is all about Chanel in a seafoam blue-green gown that comes paired with a bedazzled hood. The 'CC' logo embellishes and pearlizes the hem of the fabric.

Anok Yai wears a gown that fits like a champagne glass, courtesy of Nepalese-American designer Prabal Gurung. The skirt flares in a tutu that is shellacked and adorned with layers of seashell-like disks, while the mesh mask gives the feeling of a masquerade whose invitations are very, very exclusive.

Quannah Chasinghorse also wears Prabal Gurung. The petal-pink bodice has peek-a-boo cutouts while the skirt flairs like a cupcake, creating a sweet and sophisticated contrast when paired with the elbow-length biker-chic gloves.

Also continuing the dapper and dashing theme is writer-director Taika Waiti whose exaggerated charcoal gray coat comes with black lapels that scream roaring twenties.

West Side Story chanteuse Ariana DeBose - on the arm of Joseph Altuzarra - provides one of the lone splashes of color as she hits the carpet wearing Altuzarra. The daffodil-yellow satin gown settles just so off of her shoulders, with faux fur gives off 1930s glamour girl vibes.

Bling Empire starlet Christine Chiu was another splash of color, strutting like a phoenix in a brilliantly red gown with its own feathered and fluffed train.

Dwayne Wade honors the black-and-white motifs that Lagerfeld so favored, wearing a black Versace jacket and vest.

Splendid colors aside, for the most part, silvers, whites and pinks dominate the spectacle. From Dua Lipa to Kate Moss, stars have been holding to the champagne and platinum color schemes, honoring "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" with icy kisses and pearly touches.