The Best Beauty Looks at the Met Gala 2023

This year’s Met Gala comes with a theme colored by an icon—and the beauty looks that accompanied the parade of Chloé, Fendi, and Chanel paid equal homage to the sensibilities championed by Karl Lagerfeld. To embody this year’s theme, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” attendees looked to runways past and Lagerfeld himself: low-slung styles tied in black ribbons, practiced mussing, cool hair hues, feline finishes. Color palettes included copious blacks, whites, and shades of gray, soft nudes, petal pinks, and, of course, the occasional dash of Choupette blue. There was, to be sure, an overall je ne sais quoi, that untouchable chicness that exists at the nexus of ceaseless effort and none at all.

That is to say, it was all very Parisian.

For Michaela Coel, that translated to sculptural cornrows and bronze-dusted lids, the better to echo her custom Schiaparelli gown, while Paloma Elsesser’s metallics (the work of makeup artist Fara Homidi) were a medley of silver, onyx, and Lagerfeld-favored texture. Cara Delevingne opted for a wet-look shag in a rainy shade; Anne Hathaway donned a romantic (and waist-reaching) brunette bouffant; and Alton Mason went full-on Chanel bride, white tulle veil and all.

And Kristen Stewart’s sculpted brunette mullet and graphic brows served as a reminder of the sort of aesthetic evolutions made possible (and all the more iconic) with Lagerfeld in one’s corner.

Straight from the steps, these are the best beauty looks from the Met Gala 2023.