Katy Perry may have missed out on the fashion and fun from last night's Met Gala, but she still had some fun and fierce looks of her own.
Though the star has made appearances at the annual New York City ball in the past – most notably, and virally, for 2019's Camp: Notes on Fashion, where she dressed up as both a burger and chandelier – she was a no-show this year.
Instead, she was busy serving as judge alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie on American Idol in Los Angeles, though she still dressed up to the nines.
While the Met Gala took place and American Idol aired, Katy took to Instagram to make a cheeky joke about her absence.
"At the mat ball," she wrote alongside a photo of her posing in front of a pile of blue gym mats. It may not have been the red carpet, but she looked glamorous nonetheless, donning a form-fitting, sheer black gown with a sweet-heart neckline and, quite fittingly for the "Firework" singer, bedecked with sequined fireworks throughout.
Still, it didn't stop fans from maintaining she was certainly missed back in NYC. "You would've been best dressed at the Met," one fan wrote, as others added: "We wanted you at the Met," and: "I was waiting for your triumphant entrance to the Met Gala," as well as: "Serving even without the Met and we thank you for that."
The theme of 2023's Met Gala was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. It honored the late designer's decades of work, highlighting his long-standing relationship with brands such as Chloé, Fendi, his eponymous label, and most notably Chanel, which he helmed since 1983 until his death in 2019. Ironically enough, Lagerfeld has been described as having a notorious disdain for nostalgia, and has been quoted as previously stating: "There is nothing worse than bringing up the good old days."
MORE: Katy Perry shows off stunning curves in sheer dress - but fans are only saying one thing
MORE: Orlando Bloom had the absolutely sweetest reaction to Katy Perry's Coronation gig
The decision to make him the center of this year's theme did not come without its fair share of criticism, with many highlighting his past comments against the Me Too movement, as well as several racist and fatphobic remarks.
© GettyFamously on the first Monday in May, the first Met Gala was in 1948, and each year it intends to raise funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, which was its own entity from 1937 until it merged with The Met in 1946. In 2014, it reopened as the Anna Wintour Costume Center with the exhibition Charles James: Beyond Fashion. The Vogue editor-in-chief has been co-chair since 1995, and Andrew Bolton is the head curator of the institute.
Alongside Wintour, this year's co-chairs were Penélope Cruz, Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel and Roger Federer. Other celebrity attendees at the event this year were Kim Kardashian with Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, Olivia Wilde, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Emma Chamberlain, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Emily Ratajkowski, and more.
Read more HELLO! US stories here. Want to keep up to date with the latest stories? Sign up to our HELLO! Newsletters today.
