5 brands besides Chanel spotted at Met and endorsed by Anna Wintour

Not only Chanel. The French maison certainly triumphed at the Met Gala 2023 with a major rediscovery of its archives that further highlighted Karl Lagerfeld's talent and contribution to the company founded by Madame Coco, but there was also room for unexpected choices and lesser-known realities. Obscured by the massive presence of Fendi, Gucci and Versace, some emerging or lesser-known brands also tried to attract the attention of the big luxury companies. From Róisín Pierce to Luar, each of them proposed their own style while adhering to the dress code set by Lagerfeld, confirming the zeal, experimentation and creativity that often characterise young projects. They challenged the status of giants and received the approval of the celebrities who wore them and, above all, of Anna Wintour, the supreme queen of world fashion and the Met Gala, who carefully scrutinises every garment destined for the red carpet and follows its entire evolution from sketch to final production.

G-Club has selected five models who stood out at the Met Gala 2023 or at the after-party.

Vaquera

No, they did not walk alongside Jared Leto in Choupette or Dua Lipa in Vintage Chanel, but Vaquera's clothes were also somehow part of the Met Gala 2023. The brand's founders, Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee, created a series of virtual outfits worn by fake celebrities and socialites using the artificial intelligence programme Midjourney (the same tool responsible for the viral images of the Pope in a long white bedspread). September Evans posed for the photographers in an ivory satin pouffe look; Anita Kristiansen opted for a custom-made plastic dress with matching headdress; Anita Lee gave a nod to upcycling with a dress made from black rubbish bags; and Carrie Marie Carey wore a brown cocktail dress that looked like it was covered in mud and melted on her, liquefying on the red carpet. Pure divertissement, provocation or just a foretaste of how the Met Gala dresses will be designed in the future?

Harris Reed

How can you pay homage to Karl Lagerfeld's career without wearing one of his creations? The answer is Ashley Graham's look. The model strode up the Met steps in a sculptural black and pink dress by Harris Reed, which cited a similar dress worn by Inès de La Fressange on the Chanel FW87 catwalk. The wow effect Graham achieved at the 1 May event is the same that has always distinguished Harris' fashion. Born in Los Angeles in 1996, the Anglo-American designer graduated from Central Saint Martins in London in 2020. Since then, he's been on an upward trajectory, dressing Solange while still a student and designing stage costumes for Harry Styles' 2017-18 world tour. His graduation collection was bought by MyTheresa and paved the way for collaborations with Dolce & Gabbana and Etro, but most importantly for the creation of his eponymous brand and appointment as creative director of Nina Ricci in 2022. His fans include Beyoncé, Lily Collins and Florence Pugh, who love his gender-neutral, glittery, theatrical and eccentric style, which is a mix of inspirations ranging from costumes to glam rock.

Róisín Pierce

Alexa Chung was not dressed by Chanel, Chloé or Patou at the Met Gala 2023, but by Róisin Pierce. The Irish designer created an extremely intricate 19th century doll look for her, reminiscent of the corsagecore and coquettecore trends. The top, with its boxy silhouette, was made from patchwork pieces of satin crepe and embellished with hand-stitched embossed flowers, while the skirt alternated panels of embroidered organza with voluminous bows to create movement and the "cotton flower" effect. It is the perfect example of Pierce's collections drawing from profound and historical inspirations, such as ceremonial items made by unwed mothers in the Irish Magdalene Laundries, establishments where "fallen women" were housed during the 18th century. and 19th century. The craftsmanship and expertise of seamstresses and embroiderers are translated into diaphanous dresses and flowing blouses of drapes, bows, elastics and gathers that celebrate the ancient art of dressing for communion, baptism and marriage.

Luar

For this year's Met Gala, Balenciaga invited four emerging designers and their muses to take a seat at the brand's table: Bianca Saunders and singer Usher; Elena Velez and artist Sasha Gordon; Svitlana Bevza and Pasha Harulia; Raúl López of Luar and Paloma Elsesser. The Dominican-born designer dressed the supermodel in a gown with a dramatic train and prominent shoulders, inspired by a 1999 Chanel Couture show. López, who grew up in New York and is self-taught, was one of the founders of Bonnet by Air before founding Luar in 2017. His fashions envelop the female body, creating silhouettes with exaggerated shoulders and curved hips reminiscent of the dresses worn by the women in his family and the creations of Christian Lacroix and Claude Montana. Your cult object? It's the Ana bag, which sold out in 30 minutes on its debut thanks to its slightly old-fashioned shape and round handle, earning López the CFDA Accessories Designer of the Year 2022 and boosting Luar's sales by 140 per cent from SS22 to SS23.

Dilara Findikoglu

For the Met Gala After Party, Emily Ratajkowski wore a bespoke creation by Dilara Findikoglu, a mix of beading, bustier and transparencies that well represented the Turkish-British designer's style. Born in 1990 and educated at Central Saint Martins in London, the designer quickly won the favour of current celebrities, from Bella Hadid to Anya Taylor-Joy, thanks to her sexy, alternative and gothic style. Her dresses fuse tulle, lace, flowers, beading, corsets, straps, asymmetrical cuts, feminism, Catholicism and Gothic to create a daring and irresistible aesthetic, tailor-made for mythical creatures from a nineteenth-century Gothic novel.