Dress codes might baffle the best of us, but Katy Perry proved her fearless dedication to this week's Met Gala theme - a tribute to avant-garde Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo and her label Comme des Garcons - by donning a custom-made, suitably conceptual look by John Gallliano for Artisanal Maison Margiela.
As a co-chair of the event, Perry was basically duty bound to deliver an ultra-striking entrance and, in the vivid red creation, she delivered magnificently.
Her complex look consisted of a ''red de cortique" embroidered wool coat layered over a red tulle and silk chiffon dress with embroidered satin ribbon embellishment.
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Over this Perry wore a delicately embroidered red silk tulle veil and an elaborate chrome headpiece, finishing the ensemble with red Japanese Tabi boots.
Perry, renowned for her peacocking style choices, sparked speculation that she may even have shaved her head so as to fully commit to Galliano's vision, but it soon became clear that her blonde crop was simply smoothed down underneath the sweeping veil.
Vogue's Andre Leon Talley spoke to Perry as she entered the Met Museum, commenting that he could see himself in the antennae mirrors of her head dress.
''Yes, darling, I'm witnessing you and you're witnessing me," Perry replied, referring to the word ''witness" stitched across the top of the veil and incorporating a delicate eye illustration.
''I'm serving everyone, tonight I'm serving my looks," she said. ''Bon appetit, I hope you enjoy."
The "witness" embroidery has also prompted further speculation that this may be the title of Perry's next album.
The singer also used the word as a caption to a video on her Instagram account, showing her inside the museum, co-opting the wide-eyed emoji in the same way that Beyonce made the lemon emoji her own with Lemonade.
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Galliano's creation for Perry is one of his most high-profile since returning to the fashion industry as creative director at Maison Margiela in 2014. He was sacked as creative director at Christian Dior in 2011 after being filmed delivering an anti-Semitic rant at a Paris cafe.
While he has largely been welcomed back by industry insiders, his part in such a high-profile global event has divided opinion on social media.
Anna Wintour, the Met Gala's chairman, is a long-time supporter of Galliano and helped him to re-establish himself following treatment for substance and alcohol abuse issues which led to his 2011 breakdown.
Wintour is known to orchestrate many of the celebrity-designer partnerships seen on the Met Gala red carpet. Pairing Perry - one of the world's most experimental stars - with Galliano so that he might express his take on Kawakubo's aesthetic seems to have been one of her great masterstrokes of the night. - The Daily Telegraph
• This article was originally published in The Times.
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