All the vintage dresses from the Met Gala 2023 From Dua Lipa to Naomi Campbell, celebrities on the red carpet paid tribute to Karl Lagerfeld's career

The Met Gala 2023 went down with its signature mix of glamour, eccentricity, elegance and, never more so than this year, black and white, "in honour of Karl", to quote the dress code chosen by Anna Wintour for this edition. For weeks we have been wondering what the many guests invited to the event most anticipated by the fashion world would wear, and finally we have the answer: lots of vintage. And it could not be any other way, considering the long and prolific career of Karl Lagerfeld, who provided a rich archive as inspiration for the outfits of Rihanna, JLo, Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman and the other celebrities on the red carpet. Some preferred to go even further back in time and dig out some of the German designer's outfits from his time at Chloé, such as Olivia Wilde, Margaret Zhang and Maude Apatow, who wore part of the FW83 collection; but most, as could easily be guessed, opted for archival Chanel pieces. Starting with two of the co-hosts, Dua Lipa and Penelope Cruz. The singer looked super chic in a white tweed wedding gown with a black bodice, consisting of a corolla bodice and skirt, previously worn on the FW92 Couture runway by Claudia Schiffer, who paired it with a Tiffany & Co diamond necklace of over two hundred carats on the advice of her stylist Lorenzo Posocco. Another wedding dress also for Penelope Cruz, who gave new life to one of the creations from the Chanel Couture SS88 collection, complete with a veil covering the actress' head. 

The most loving tribute was Amber Valletta's, who wore a fan bustier by Anita, the seamstress who worked with Karl Lagerfeld for 50 years and interpreted his vision. A guaranteed wow effect was the black and pink evening gown created by Harris Reed for Ashley Graham, quoting a similar dress worn by Inès de La Fressange, Karl Lagerfeld's muse, on the Chanel FW87 catwalk. There was no shortage of tributes to Choupette, Lagerfeld's cat, who did not appear on the red carpet but was replaced by Jared Leto and Doja Cat, or to those who wore a black and white suit made special by Lagerfeld's favourite accessories such as pearls, tie and bows.