Lily Collins at the 2023 Met Gala: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2023 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)© Michael Buckner

Lily Collins secretly channelled Karl Lagerfeld's favourite 80s model at the 2023 Met Gala

The Emily in Paris star served Ines de la Fressange style glamour

May 2, 2023

Lily Collins knows a thing or two about Parisian style, she is after all the star of Netflix’s hit series Emily in Paris.

It comes as no surprise then that for the 2023 Met Gala she channelled one of Karl Lagerfeld’s early muses. 

MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2023 Met Gala

READ: The 17 most glamorous Met Gala dresses of all time

© Christopher Polk

Lily was a dead ringer for French supermodel Ines de la Fressange, from her scarlet lipstick down to her carefully placed face framing tendril and gamine bob.

Ines is the daughter of André de Seignard, Marquis de La Fressange, and hails from french nobility. (Pretty darn chic if you ask us.) In 1983 she became the first model ever to sign an exclusive contract with Chanel. She was onboarded by Karl Lagerfeld, who was drawn to her due to her uncanny resemblance to the brand's eponymous founder, Coco Chanel, who died in 1971.

© PIERRE GUILLAUD

As for her gown, Lily entrusted Vera Wang to create her spectacular statement dress, which was emblazoned with the word Karl on her long train. “I think they're obviously both homages to him and his enormous talent. And I think while we very much want to respect all the work he did everywhere at Chanel, at Chloe, at Fendi,” Vera Wang told Saturday Night Live’s Chloe Fineman on the red carpet of her and Lily’s gown, “It was really a moment for us, Lily and I, to translate our own version of how perhaps we could wear Karl with respect and joy and privilege to be here for him tonight.”

The fact that the evening honoured the late creative director of Chanel, and that Lily is the star of hit show Emily in Paris was not lost on Fineman who asked Lily for her advice on how to pronounce words in French, “It's about the commitment, it's the commitment to whatever you think it is and then you just sell it,” Lily said of the challenge, “That's what I think you have to do and, and you're, I mean, you're totally selling it.”

MORE: The 15 best Met Gala beauty looks of all time

© Michael Buckner

Lily Collins

Met Gala theme 2023

This year's ball was infused with the spirit of late Karl Lagerfeld's legacy. The dress code honoured the legendary German-born designer's unique creative perspective, presenting guests with the opportunity to honour and celebrate his exceptional back catalogue.

Coinciding with the opening of Costume Institute's 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty' exhibition, New York's iconic Metropolitan Museum of Art opened its doors to a wave of head-turning ensembles that captured the essence of the designer's noteworthy career.

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