Every year on the first Monday of May, the Met Gala hosted by Anna Wintour is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Fans gather outside in rain or shine to watch the celebrities Wintour hand-picks walk the carpet.

Celebrities ranging from YouTubers to A-list actors are invited to walk the carpet in an outfit that follows that year’s theme. This year’s theme was celebrating the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Fans of the gala were weary of this theme because of some of the problematic things Lagerfeld has said and done during his career and his notoriety for being fatphobic, racist, and misogynistic.

Celebrities and fans felt uncomfortable with this year’s theme, with some celebrities even turning down their invitation. “It was hard to be excited about everyone’s outfits when I knew who the theme was celebrating,” sophomore Brooke Zweig said.

Despite the controversy surrounding Lagerfeld, celebrities still chose to attend. Two iconic looks from both singer Doja Cat and actor Jared Leto paid homage to Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette. Cat went the more simple route with cat ears and prosthetic makeup to give herself a cat nose, while Leto went all out with a life-sized realistic catsuit of Choupette. This left fans to speculate who was wearing the suit before Leto eventually revealed himself. Some fans thought it was singer Taylor Swift because of her love for cats.

Other celebrities went in a different direction with their outfits. Singer Billie Eilish wore a custom Simone Rocha gown and her hair in a stunning braid. Actress Margot Robbie went in a beautiful Chanel gown inspired by actress Cindy Crawford’s iconic dress from part of Chanel’s haute couture spring 1993 collection. To fit in the theme, Robbie had “Karl” written on the skirt. “I loved the gold hardware and the design was gorgeous on her,” Zweig said.

Celebrities have fun being creative and unique with their outfits. Singer Lil Nas X took this to the extreme, showing up covered in full silver body paint and rhinestones. This shocked fans as they were surprised to find out if anyone went this far with their outfit. “It was crazy but I think he pulled it off well,” sophomore Alexa Schnur said.

The gala always introduces iconic duos. One recurring one is singer Jack Harlow and Youtuber Emma Chamberlain. First meeting during the 2022 Met Gala, Chamberlain and Harlow had a hilarious interaction that got fans all over the internet excited to see them interact again. Meeting again this year had fans thrilled all over again.

Behind-the-scenes photos of celebs hanging out inside the event is always a fan favorite. Even though there is a no-photo policy inside the actual event, celebrities commune in the bathroom and take some selfies and mirror pics to commemorate the night.