Doja Cat Dressed Like Karl Lagerfeld's Cat Choupette in a White Gown for the 2023 Met Gala

Doja Cat has never shied away from strong theme dressing, and the Met Gala was no exception. The musician embraced the evening’s “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” theme, dressing like Lagerfeld’s beloved famous cat Choupette. She wore a white gown with a cat ear hood. She even wore cat prosthetics on her face to fully transform into the feline.

Doja’s fashion dedication hit one of its highest peaks earlier this year during the winter Paris fashion shows. Doja covered herself in red body paint, 30,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals to attended Schiaparelli’s haute couture show (the one Kylie Jenner made headlines wearing a faux lion’s head to).

Makeup artist Pat McGrath shared a close-up of Doja’s look and reflected on the patience Doja had to create it. “Collaborating with the incomparably talented Doja Cat and Daniel Roseberry was an absolute pleasure,” McGrath wrote. “Her patience and dedication as she sat with Team Pat McGrath and I for four hours and 58 minutes to achieve the creation, covered in over 30,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals, was truly inspiring. The final product was a magical, mesmerizing masterpiece and a tribute to Doja Cat’s hard work and dedication.”

Doja reflected to ELLE previously about her history with fashion—and how she was called out by a middle school administrator when she was a tween for her “colorful, attention-grabbing themed ensembles, complete with tutus” that she wore to class. At the time, Doja favored Harajuku- and pirate-inspired looks.

“He was like, ‘Get that crap off of your face. Nobody wants to see that. Why do you dress like this? What’s the point of dressing like this? You’re such a distraction,’” she recalled. “I never liked the way I looked. I didn’t feel like I fit in. I felt like I stuck out all the time, and I didn’t like it. It was a strange time.”

Senior News and Strategy Editor

Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.