--- title: Why Cats Dominated The 2023 Met Gala Carpet description: This year's Met Gala theme featured several looks in homage to Karl Lagerfeld's beloved cat, Choupette. canonical: https://time.com/6276254/met-gala-2023-cats/ author: Mariah Espada article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-05-02T01:39:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T15:49:03.689Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Why Cats Dominated The 2023 Met Gala Carpet og:description: This year's Met Gala theme featured several looks in homage to Karl Lagerfeld's beloved cat, Choupette og:url: https://time.com/6276254/met-gala-2023-cats/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteef48a697ba1f8b6/698a3c7286f68e33126f2643/met-gala-2023-cats-featured.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: met-gala-2023-cats-featured og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Cats Dominated The 2023 Met Gala Carpet twitter:description: This year's Met Gala theme featured several looks in homage to Karl Lagerfeld's beloved cat, Choupette twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteef48a697ba1f8b6/698a3c7286f68e33126f2643/met-gala-2023-cats-featured.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- # Why Cats Dominated the 2023 Met Gala Red Carpet > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Cats Dominated the 2023 Met Gala Red Carpet [Watch (HLS stream): Cats Dominated the 2023 Met Gala Red Carpet](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9XxUx9j1.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2023-05-02. This year’s Met Gala theme, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, inspired several gorgeous and outrageous outfits worn in homage to the late designer’s work—as well as a number of feline looks paying tribute to Lagerfeld’s 11-year-old Birman cat, Choupette._ May 2, 2023 1:39 AM UTC  by [Mariah Espada](https://time.com/author/mariah-espada/)  ## Mariah Espada May 2, 2023 1:39 AM UTC This year’s Met Gala theme, [_Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of_ Beauty,](https://time.com/6275632/why-the-met-galas-karl-lagerfeld-theme-is-controversial/) inspired several [gorgeous and outrageous outfits](https://time.com/6276152/met-gala-red-carpet-2023/) worn in homage to the late designer’s work—as well as a number of feline looks paying tribute to Lagerfeld’s 11-year-old Birman cat, Choupette. Rapper [Doja Cat arrived](https://time.com/6276231/doja-cat-choupette-met-gala-2023/) at her first Met Gala in a head-to-toe Oscar De La Renta jeweled cat gown with cat ears, accessorized with a prosthetic cat nose and cat claw inspired acrylic nails. Shortly after, someone wearing a fluffy cat suit and head, with blue eyes and gray whiskers that perfectly resembled Choupette, arrived on the carpet. When the cat head was removed, it was revealed to be actor Jared Leto, who is [starring as Lagerfeld](https://variety.com/2022/film/news/jared-leto-karl-lagerfeld-biopic-1235394536/) in an upcoming biopic he’s producing. (It’s not the first time the actor has [removed his head](https://www.gq.com/story/jared-leto-met-gala-2019-head) on the red carpet.)  Jared LetoNoam Galai—GA/The Hollywood Reporter/Getty Images  Doja CatTheo Wargo—Getty Images The stars’ similar red carpet choices prompted several viral memes showcasing the duo facing off. > [](https://twitter.com/%5F%5Fkristine%5Fh/status/1653185592383922179) > [](https://twitter.com/lunaaloovegoood/status/1653190321440796675) > [](https://twitter.com/Braherr/status/1653186946275897347) And rapper Lil Nas X responded to reporters only with “meows” when asked about his cat look, featuring glistening silver body paint, pearls, and whiskers. > [](https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/1653192318164541440) According to her agent [Lucas Bérullier](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/fashion/karl-lagerfeld-cat-choupette-met-gala.html), Choupette was invited to the Met Gala. The cat confirmed she would not attend the event on her [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/Crsv2Xit8CC/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&ig%5Frid=b688491b-7a03-47d9-a61b-080a31e8aa02) account, which has nearly 175,000 followers, writing, “Many people invited me to walk the red carpet of the Met Gala 2023 in tribute to Daddy, but we preferred to stay peacefully and cozy at home.” > [](https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1653151994901852161) Tributes to Choupette were seen all over the carpet Monday night. James Corden donned a blue suit meant to match the cat’s eyes. Janelle Monáe carried a white bag shaped like a cat, and _Saturday Night Live_‘s Chloe Fineman held a small pink bejeweled cat purse. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6276254/met-gala-2023-cats/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6276254/met-gala-2023-cats/"},"headline":"Why Cats Dominated the 2023 Met Gala Red Carpet","datePublished":"2023-05-02T01:39:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T15:49:03.689Z","description":"This year's Met Gala theme featured several looks in homage to Karl Lagerfeld's beloved cat, Choupette","url":"https://time.com/6276254/met-gala-2023-cats/","keywords":["fashion","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mariah Espada","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mariah-espada/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/fashion/","name":"fashion"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6276254/met-gala-2023-cats/","name":"Why Cats Dominated the 2023 Met Gala Red Carpet"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Cats Dominated the 2023 Met Gala Red Carpet","description":"This year’s Met Gala theme, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, inspired several gorgeous and outrageous outfits worn in homage to the late designer’s work—as well as a number of feline looks paying tribute to Lagerfeld’s 11-year-old Birman cat, Choupette.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/9XxUx9j1/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-05-02T06:13:54.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9XxUx9j1.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6276254/met-gala-2023-cats/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6276254/met-gala-2023-cats/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```