Rihanna pays homage to Karl Lagerfeld with faux fur ensemble ahead of Met Gala

This year’s Gala theme pays tribute to late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, known for his signature white hair and black glasses

As the annual fashion event Met Gala kicks off today (Monday 1 May), celebrities will be offering their take on this year’s theme: “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”.

The theme, chosen by Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, promises to “examine the life” of the late designer’s fashion legacy.

It seems that “Diamonds” singer Rihanna has already addressed the theme ahead of time, as she appeared in New York over the weekend sporting in a monochrome black and white outfit, with vintage chanel pieces.

Fashion commentators have remarked that Rihanna’s outfit was a nod to tonight’s theme, as it echoes Lagerfeld’s signature black and white colour scheme.

In a series of photographs shared to Twitter on Sunday (30 April), Rihanna captioned the post “Not even Monday” to hint that she was getting ready for the Met Gala on Monday (1 May).

Vogue has reported that in the photographs, Rihanna was wearing Chanel pieces from the fall 1994 collection, designed by Lagerfeld himself. She wore Chanel’s cropped faux-fur jacket and a statement pair of “CC” logo sunglasses.

She also wore a fuzzy white Coperni dress, strappy Amina Muaddi heels, and a custom faux fur hat by Benny Andallo.

Fashion experts have remarked that the pre-Gala look could be a hint at what she might show up wearing later today.

Attendees have been informed that the “most authentic approach” would be for attendees “to wear an archival look from one of the labels Lagerfeld led”.

They can also opt for “modern-day” looks by Chanel or Fendi, two brands where the German designer once held the role as creative director. For the third option, guests are recommended to “find a Choupette,” which was the name of the designer’s Birman cat, and “dress à la Lagerfeld”.

This year’s theme looks at “the designer’s stylistic vocabulary as expressed in aesthetic themes that appear time and again in his fashions from the 1950s to his final collection in 2019.”

Read our live coverage of the Met Gala 2023 as it happens here.