Why Pearls and Tweed Took Over the Met Gala Red Carpet

Kim Kardashian in a custom Schiaparelli pearl dress Cover Photo: Jamie McCartney via: CNN

This year's Met Gala theme was “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” with a dress code of “in honor of Karl.” Lagerfeld had a long tenure at Chanel, increasing the house’s popularity and creating their signature styles or silhouettes. Chanel is known for their tweed garments and pearl accents. In true Chanel fashion, many celebrities wore pearls and tweed on the Met Gala red carpet yesterday. 

Singer Dua Lipa in a vintage Chanel Tweed Gown Photo: Getty Images via: Vogue

Tweed is a huge part of Chanel’s history. Chanel's famous tweed design started with the two piece Chanel suit from the 1920s designed by Coco Chanel herself. The fabric was inspired by sportswear and was produced in Swedish twill mills. Before the Chanel suit, tweed was not seen as the sophisticated textile it is now. Chanel was able to make the textile more feminine by dyeing it various colors and making feminine garments out of it for women to wear.

The suit not only became a symbol of the brand but of the liberated woman. After Coco Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld kept the symbol of the tweed suit under the brand and eventually designed other garments with tweed. Under him, tweed became a brand staple and has been seen in every runway collection since. 

Anne Hatheway in a tweed Custom Versace gown Photo: Justin Lane via CNN

Pearls have been used as an extra detail and accent within Chanel’s designs to create glamorous costume jewelry for the masses. Coco Chanel herself was known for always wearing pearl necklaces and other costume jewelry. When the brand first started using pearl accents, Chanel put fake pearls and gemstones onto her minimalist garments for added details and effect. The designer also created costume jewelry featuring faux pearls that they can wear. At the time, many wealthy people did not like wearing their expensive fine jewelry out so Chanel’s costume jewelry was perfect for everyday wear and allowed them to layer as much jewelry as they wanted.

Serena Williams in a crystal lined dress with pearl jewelry with Alexis Ohanian Photo: Evan Agostini via CNN

Costume jewelry became fairly popular and a fashion trend, which propelled Chanel to launch a jewelry line in collaboration with Verdura jewelry. Chanel said,

“It’s disgusting to walk around with millions [of] dollars around [your] neck because one happens to be rich. I only like fake jewelry….because it’s provocative.”

Karl Lagerfeld was able to continue Chanel’s love and use of costume jewelry on garments and it continues to be a popular staple for the brand. 

Keke Palmer in a Tweed Sergio Hudson gown Photo: via CNN

There were several looks at the Met Gala that utilized this history within their looks. Celebrities such as Keke Palmer and Anne Hathaway utilized the use of tweed while still honoring the classic design elements of their prospective designers or pulled from their own style while still honoring Lagerfeld’s legacy. Other celebrities such as Kim Kardashian took it a step further by completely covering herself in up to 50,000 pearls and 16,000 crystals. 

Actor Harvey Guillen in Christian Siriano Photo: Evan Agostini via CNN 

Pearls and tweed were seen everywhere for every look including on accessories and shoes. The Met Gala looks were each unique and creative and it was great to see different designers takes on classic Chanel style. Designers were able to contain their own design elements but also added Chanel’s such as tweed and/or pearls. This Met Gala was full of love letters to Lagerfeld’s signature Chanel styles and elements that made the brand more famous within the industry.