Met Gala 2023 biggest moments: Where couture, cockroaches and fashionably late fashionistas stole the show

Rihanna, Lil Nas X and Jared Leto on the Met Gala's 2023 "red" carpet. Photos / Getty

From multiple pregnancy announcements to relationship debuts, this year’s Met Gala was full of surprising moments. Cockroaches and fashionably late celebrities - such as Rihanna - stole the show. There were stars in black and white detailing, a few cats and plenty of Chanel and Fendi.

Here are some of the biggest moments from the Met Gala 2023

Kardashian Watch

Unfounded rumours flew about whether the Kardashians were even invited to this year’s Met Gala; Kim put them at rest when she posted to Instagram a research trip to Paris (complete with a stop to pay fealty to Choupette).

But who else from the Kardashian-Jenner clan made the cut? According to the guest list provided to press at the venue, Kendall and Kylie Jenner were the only others slated to come.

But what about the extended universe? Kendall’s rumoured beau Bad Bunny was on the list; Kylie’s — one Timothee Chalamet, a recent Met Gala host — was not. Also on the list was Kim’s ex, Pete Davidson. The pair walked the carpet last year, with Kim clad in the famous Marilyn Monroe dress.

Roger Federer, A LA mode

Asked how he got to be a Met Gala co-chair, tennis great Roger Federer said it helps to know Anna Wintour.

Federer was among the early arrivals, walkin up the Met’s carpeted steps a few minutes after fellow co-chair Dua Lipa.

The tennis star said it makes sense for athletes to be at the Met Gala because they’ve become a bigger part of the fashion world in recent years.

“I think the sports people have gotten more and more fashionable,” Federer told AP. “We’re fortunate to get onto covers much more frequently nowadays. Before it was always the models, the good-looking people, not the athletes.”

“Life has been so intertwined between sports and fashion in recent years, so it’s nice to come out on a type of red carpet like this,” he said before ascending the steps.

Karlie Kloss’ secret plus-one

No one gets an automatic plus-one to the Met Gala — unless you’re Karlie Kloss. Accompanied by her husband Josh Kushner, Kloss revealed her pregnancy in an interview with Emma Chamberlain on the Vogue livestream — much to the host’s excitement.

Kloss and Kushner also have a son, born in 2021.

Doja Cat. That’s the headline.

Doja Cat leaned into her name and love of cats for her first Met Gala. The rapper arrived on the carpet with makeup and prosthetics that gave her a feline’s face, cat claws for her nails and sequined dress with cat ears.

“I’m just really happy about it and I feel sexy,” she said.

The makeup took 45 minutes to an hour and getting the dress on took about 20 minutes.

Doja Cat said the inspiration for her look came immediately when she heard this year’s theme, which honours the late designer Karl Lagerfeld, who counted among his many muses his cat Choupette.

“We just went for it,” she said.

Who’s that cat?

New York’s rat czar can rest easy — the cats have overrun the Met. There’s still no Choupette but the attendees stepped up.

1. Jared Leto talked to AP’s John Carucci as Choupette. He didn’t just channel her spirit from across the ocean — that was him in a giant, white fursuit complete with heart-melting eyes. At some point, though, the head came off, at which point it looked alarmingly like a medieval battle trophy.

2. Lil Nas X talked to cameras in meows. If you speak Cat, help meow-t. The singer’s look was “crystallised cat”, created by Pat McGrath and Dior Men.

Serena Williams pregnant, too!

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian announced they were expecting a baby during a Vogue livestream interview with La La Anthony.

The tennis superstar announced she would retire from the sport in August, saying she wanted to focus on her business interests — and having another child.

Williams and Ohanian beamed as they told Anthony there were three of them up there for the interview. Then Ohanian and Anthony both offered to have a drink on Williams’ behalf inside.

The couple have a 5-year-old daughter, Olympia. Williams actually announced her intention to step away from tennis in an essay for — where else? — Vogue.

Earlier in the night, Karlie Kloss also announced she was pregnant.

Florence Pugh and Pierpaolo Piccioli at #MetGala

— Pop Hive (@thepophive) May 1, 2023

The buzz about Florence Pugh

Florence Pugh did not hold back for her Met Gala debut. The 27-year-old actor surprised onlookers with a shaved head, adorned with a sky-high feathered headpiece by Valentino. Her gown, also Valentino, was white with a black ribbon.

Pugh has sported several showstopping Valentino looks lately, including at the Venice Film Festival premiere of Don’t Worry Darling and then again at the Oscars this year. Last week she revealed that she was the new star of Valentino’s Rockstud bag campaign.

But her hair drew the most attention. Some onlookers wondered if it was a wig.

In an interview last week with the New York Times she teased that her Met Gala look was going to be “big”.

“The idea is to be as bold as possible. I love the power that it gives me. I love how it sparks conversation,” Pugh said. “Every time I step out in whatever dress, that’s a version of me that I’m really proud of. So it doesn’t matter if people don’t necessarily like it. I don’t think anything that I do has to be 100 per cent loved. Things being up for debate is good. It means people are interested.”

Just last week, Pugh attended an event with a long blonde bob with bangs.

A cockroach slays on the Met Gala red carpet

— Vulture (@vulture) May 2, 2023

Met Gala Cockroach, 2023-2023

The cockroach has been stepped on. While it’s possible the cockroach was born in 2022, given that they have an adult lifespan of around six months, we reckon that lifespan shortens significantly in New York City.

Did Rihanna finally arrive at the Met Gala?

Yes! About an hour and a half after reporters were told to expect one more guest in about 15 minutes, Rihanna arrived at the Met Gala. She ascended the steps in voluminous white bedecked with rosettes that doubled as a hood, accompanied by A$AP Rocky in a kilt-type layer over jeans (reminiscent of mid-aughts Disney Channel couture).

It’s just May and it’s already been a year of grand entrances for Rihanna, who revealed her pregnancy during her Super Bowl appearance in February.

- AP