The Creatives Behind Doja Cat’s Met Gala Gown Share the Story Behind the Oscar de la Renta Look

Several fashionable felines left their scent on the 2023 Met Gala red carpet on Monday (May 1), but Doja Cat was easily the pick of the litter. The singer-rapper’s dazzling Oscar de la Renta gown – complete with a cat-eared hood and complemented by a prosthetic cat face – was an homage to Choupette, the beloved kitty of the late Karl Lagerfeld. (This year’s gala theme was “in honor of Karl.”)

Although Doja was far from the only Choupette on the red carpet – Lil Nas X drew upon the famous feline, as did Jared Leto in a rather literal interpretation –the “Need to Know” star’s knockout look left us needing to know more about how it came together.

According to Oscar de la Renta co-creative directors Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, the ODLR/Doja Cat collab loosely traces back to Doja’s Billboard Hot 100 top 10 “Vegas.” In the music video for the Elvis soundtrack hit, Doja rocked a floral Monse dress, which Kim and Garcia (Monse founders) “loved.”

“Since then we had wanted to find a special, collaborative moment with Oscar de la Renta,” Kim tells Billboard. “She’s fashion’s ‘it-girl,’ so we are thrilled to have been able to dress her for her first Met.”

Given the 2023 gala’s theme and “Kiss Me More” artist’s moniker, the look was probably inevitable. “When we found out about the theme for this year’s Met Gala, it was very clear to us all within a day or two that she had to be Choupette,” Garcia says. “We worked with a comfortable amount of time — around five months, which allowed us to consider multiple swatches and conduct proper fittings. Having an ample amount of time led to the success and beauty of this gown.”

Even though the two are experienced fashion pros, this gown was a first for both. “We have created hooded gowns in the past,” Garcia says, “But this is the first hooded gown with cat ears we have ever done, so we wanted it to be super refined and feel elegant.”

Considering Doja made the lion’s share of ‘best dressed’ lists, it seems the rest of the world was feline it, too.