Feline fun. Jared Leto walked the red carpet at the 2023 Met Gala in one of his boundary-pushing looks: a full-body cat costume.
The Oscar winner, 51, dressed as the late Karl Lagerfeld’s beloved cat, Choupette, for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual Costume Institute benefit on Monday, May 1. His look included a giant replica of Choupette’s head, complete with her ice-blue eyes and pink nose. (Lagerfeld, who died in 2019 at age 85, is the theme of this year’s gala and accompanying exhibit at the Met.)
It was initially impossible to tell who was under the suit until Leto removed his mask, revealing his signature long tresses. After he unmasked himself, the Suicide Squad star hugged several of his fellow attendees, including Anne Hathaway and Lizzo, both of whom looked delighted by his unusual outfit.
Leto has a history of going all out for the Met Gala. In 2022, he and former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele dressed alike in matching bedazzled suits, and in 2019, he accessorized his Gucci look with a wax replica of his own head.
The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman later revealed that he lost the head in the whirlwind of the evening. “I think someone may have stolen it,” he told GQ in October 2019. “If anyone out there finds it, bring it into your nearest Gucci store in exchange for a pair of dirty sneakers.”
While Leto’s cat look is sure to wind up in the annals of wildest looks the Met Gala, he wasn’t the only person who chose to dress as Choupette this year. Doja Cat wore a custom Oscar de la Renta with a cat-eared hood, going so far as to apply prosthetics to make her nose look more feline.
The real Choupette, meanwhile, was not in attendance. “Many people invited me to walk the red carpet of the #METGALA2023 in tribute to Daddy, but we preferred to stay peacefully & cozy at home,” read a post shared via Choupette’s official Instagram account on Sunday, April 30. “We pay tribute to my Daddy every day since his parting and we are very moved to see one more day dedicated to him. With love, forever Choupette
.”
In 2012, Lagerfeld revealed that his pet had two of her own maids and was also occasionally taken care of by his driver. “She likes strange toys, toys that aren’t supposed to be toys. She plays with pieces of wood, pieces of paper, shopping bags. She loves shopping bags,” the former Fendi designer told Harper’s Bazaar at the time. “Her favorite one is a huge Colette shopping bag that’s under the kitchen table. She spends hours in there and brings all her toys in there. And when I’m in bed, sometimes she comes and brings all her toys in my bed.”
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