Jessica Chastain brought the drama to Met Gala 2023—and Karl Lagerfeld would have loved it.
In honor of the evening's theme, "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," the Oscar winner debuted newly platinum-blonde hair, a drastic change from her signature fiery-red tresses. And be they hers or borrowed for the occasion, Chastain's locks were the epitome of fierceness—and respect.
"Any guesses who's my inspo for tonight ?" she captioned a preview of her Elizabeth Stewart-styled look on Instagram, the quick video featuring her slipping on some dark square-lens shades, à la Lagerfeld. The German designer was also known for his snow-white hair, which he always wore pulled back in a ponytail (lots of those at the Met tonight, too).
Chastain's custom black strapless gown, lack tulle gloves, jewelry and sunglasses were all Gucci.
Scroll through all the Met Gala 2023 fashion right here
Her porcelain complexion and makeup were courtesy of Charlotte Tilbury Beauty.
Chastain interviewed Lagerfeld at New York's Lincoln Center in 2013, and he encouraged her to ask "mean questions" so he could have a little fun. (It went well—he told the New York Times two years later that the actress was "great.")
Talking about his multiple titles as creative director of both Chanel and Fendi, as well as head of his own eponymous line, he said he didn't mind at all if people didn't automatically connect him with either Chanel or Fendi (not that that happened often).
"I am not obsessed by my name, I don't care," Lagerfeld said. "What I like is a job. The ego trip, that comes later."
When it came to making gowns for big events that attracted a lot of eyeballs, he said, "The red carpet is not fashion; it's always the same silhouette. Fashion is something else than the red carpet, but the red carpet is a part of our world, our fashion world."
And according to Met Gala chair and longtime Lagerfeld friend Anna Wintour, he also didn't believe that fashion should ever be in a museum, that the industry should always be looking forward. So perhaps tonight was also about proving the late icon just a teeny bit wrong. We feel like he wouldn't have objected to a soupçon of contrariness.
Keep scrolling for all the Met Gala 2023 silhouettes—we promise there's more than one:
In Jean Paul Gaultier
In Givenchy
In Thom Browne
In Schiaparelli
In Valentino
In Jacquemus
In Chanel SS07 Couture
In BOSS
In Chanel
In Valentino
In Karl Lagerfeld
In Karl Lagerfeld
In Ralph Lauren
In Thom Browne
In Marc Jacobs
In Valentino
In Atelier Versace
In Oscar de la Renta
In custom Simone Rocha with Cartier jewelry
In Marc Jacobs
In Chanel
In Prada
In Thom Browne
In Gucci and Bucherer Fine Jewellery
In Simkhai
In Gucci
In Valentino
In Valentino
In Gucci
And visit E! Online's 2023 Met Gala page for every photo and must-see moment from fashion's biggest night.
