There were a couple celebs who were feline fine at the 2023 Met Gala.
Both Jared Leto and (the appropriately named) Doja Cat both sported looks that were very cat-focused on the red carpet on fashion's biggest night.
Leto wore a full-on cat costume that made him look like an eerily life-like sports mascot, and it wasn't even known that it was him before he took the head off after being on the red carpet for some time. Then again, who else who dress up in an entire cat outfit?
Leto later swapped out his cat costume for a black caped look.
Doja Cat, meanwhile, went for a look that was more feline-inspired rather than just dressing as a cat. She sported a full-length sparkling white and silver-beaded dress with a furry train (that served to look like a cat tail) and a hood that came with small cat ears. The look was an ode by Oscar de la Renta, and she wore prosthetics that gave her a feline face and claws.
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While the outfits are purr-fectly on brand, why did they opt to go with that particular look? It goes back to Karl Lagerfeld, the late Chanel designer who is the theme of Monday night's posh affair.
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Lagerfeld was all about his white cat, Choupette. He adopted her in 2011 and brought her to countless events around the world. The cat is now worth millions of dollars.
The besotted Lagerfeld quickly turned Choupette into an international star with her own maids, bodyguards, custom Louis Vuitton carriers, silver bowls and a jet-set lifestyle. She also had her own jewels and nannies. Her most prominent caretaker was Françoise Caçote, to whom Lagerfeld left Choupette.
So will Choupette be making an appearance at the Met Gala? Sorry pet lovers, Choupette opted to stay home, wityh her Instagram page saying earlier on Monday, "Many people invited me to walk the red carpet of the #METGALA2023 in tribute to Daddy, but we preferred to stay peacefully & cozy at home."
“Choupette is such a strange thing because I never thought that I could fall in love with an animal like this,” Karl Lagerfeld, fashion designer and owner of Choupette, told CNBC in 2017. "She’s (become) a world famous star. She has her own fortune – for the things she did in Japan and in Germany, for cars and things like that."
Lagerfeld went on to say at the time that he thought Choupette had made him a better person.
”(Choupette) gives something magical that I understand that the Egyptians from 4000 years before Jesus Christ, for them the cats were the most important animal. I understand that," he told CNBC. “And she gives energy. It’s very strange. When I have her next to me I feel like a telephone (that) is recharged!”
A few other celebs also made efforts to reference Lagerfed's beloved cat. Chloe Fineman carried a cat-shaped bag and Emma Chamberlain wore “Choupette blue,” a light blue hue created by Lagerfeld. James Corden also showed up in the shade.
