Gigi Hadid paid homage to the Met Gala 2023 theme with the dinkiest beauty detail

Gigi Hadid is well-versed when it comes to fashion history. If her decades-long career modelling and working closely with some of the world’s most prestigious designers wasn’t enough, her recent stint as co-host of Next In Fashion was all about analysing and celebrating references of designers’ past work.

So, when it came to this year’s Met Gala 2023 theme, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” which invited guests to pay tribute to the late designer who headed up a whole string of the most famous fashion houses on the globe, including Chanel, Balmain, Chloé and Fendi, we knew Gigi would understand the assignment.

One delicate detail Gigi played up were the pearls that Karl continually referenced in his collections for Chanel. Though they were a signature of Coco Chanel herself (who would layer strings of pearls over her little black dresses), Lagerfeld brought them forward and remixed them across countless collections and even wore the accessory himself.

Gigi and her team had clearly thought of every detail, from the cropped gloves that referenced the fingerless gloves loved by Karl, to the strings of pearls she wore around her neck. And her beauty look was no less considered. She called on her makeup artist, Patrick Ta, to create a pearlescent silvery-white eyeshadow look for the occasion. And, to incorporate one of Karl’s favourite details further, Patrick even placed two teensy pearl under the centre of Gigi’s eyes as a dainty accent. We love how easy the pretty upgrade is to recreate (and we’ve already added pearly stickers to our Amazon basket)

As for her platinum hair, Gigi’s hair stylist, Laura Polko, created waist-length mermaid waves and a half-up top knot to keep her face clear.

For her outfit, Gigi worked with Matthew Williams at Givenchy on a stunning sheer black draped corset gown that was equal parts tough and soft. Matthew explained: “this is a look that we made inspired by some of Karl’s favourite things, so the drapes are inspired by fans which is something that he really loved and orchids [which were stitched into the train] were his favourite flowers.”