Doja Cat & Trevor Noah shine for South Africa at Met Gala

Grammy-winning rapper Doja Cat dazzled in a feline-inspired couture creation at the 2023 Met Gala celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” in New York. The prestigious annual fundraiser, which has raised over $200m (R3.67bn) in the past 27 years under Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour — marks the opening of the fashion exhibition at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The exhibition, attended by thousands worldwide, honours the life and legacy of the late designer, who passed away in February 2019, and features over 150 sketches and creative pieces by Lagerfeld. Doja Cat, who is half-South African (born Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini), paid tribute to fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld’s 11-year-old beloved cat, Choupette — with a showstopping silver Oscar de la Renta gown which wrapped into a hood complete with cat ears and a cascading long train of white feathers. She completed the look with extended feline eye makeup by Ernesto Casillas, nose prosthetics, as well as sharp cat claws added to the tips of her fingernails.

“I feel nice,” said the 27-year-old rapper to Vogue live stream correspondent La La Anthony. “I feel relaxed here.”

Jared Leto also took the Choupette cat theme to an extreme level. The actor arrived in a giant head-to-toe mascot-type cat costume. After greeting reporters in the huge costume, he removed the cat head to reveal himself and changed into a black bejewelled cape in front of reporters.

South Africa’s Trevor Noah also walked the Met Gala champagne carpet in a bespoke Thom Browne tuxedo adorned with Chanel-inspired camellia motifs, along with hair in neat cornrows and black patent leather boots.

Rihanna arrived fashionably late in an elaborate white Valentino gown featuring a voluminous bodice covered in endless white camellias, paired with fingerless gloves and sunglasses.

Lil Nas X turned up the gasps, wearing little beyond silver body paint mixed in with pearls and crystals in strategically-placed areas.

Reality star Kim Kardashian wore an elegant custom dress by Schiaparelli, featuring over 50,000 pearls draped over a beige bodysuit and skirt, paired with a silver choker and ruffled sleeves adorning a long, flowing train.

Serena Williams, dressed in a pearl and tulle Gucci gown, announced her pregnancy with a second child. This year’s gala featured Penelope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, and Anna Wintour as the evening’s co-chairs.

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