Tag: Fashion

We stepped out of Edinburgh Airport behind a burly, gentle man named Mick Shirley who’d driven up from England with a new Range Rover for our trip. 

“Shirley you must be joking,” my wife said. He eyed her like the crazy American before letting on that he got the Airplane reference and responding with one of his own. 

We followed him to a parking garage where a diesel-powered Range Rover in its elite Autobiography trim sat parked between two Defenders. It was to be our mobile HQ in Scotland for the next seven days.

“You know how to handle this?” asked Shirley, as we did the requisite walk-around.

The only time I’d driven in the UK before, it was in a left-drive car, so it was only half-strange. This time I’d go full Brit: driving on the left with the wheel on the right. It’s a mental adjustment at my sharpest mental state, and a daunting thought in a jet-lagged frazzle. 

“Of course,” I said. 

He handed me the keys, and my wife and I set off on our mission to visit the best whisky distilleries in Scotland, going from Edinburgh, to Islay, to Oban, to Speyside, and back. 

Edinburgh

A couple hundred roundabouts later, we were in the old city of Edinburgh. The last time I visited Auld Reekie, I was in a punch-drunk fog on the Gumball 3000 rally. I was grateful to be able to take it at my own pace this time. Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and it begs to be explored on foot at leisure. 

We met our local contact for Visit Scotland for breakfast on the top floor of Harvey Nichols, a luxury department store with a café overlooking St. Andrew Square. After throwing back a desperately needed espresso and taking in the views, we secured our ride in the nicest parking garage I’ve ever seen.

Then we checked into the Cheval the Edinburgh Grand, a luxurious apartment hotel occupying a former bank building, with multiple restaurants and a gorgeous wood-paneled cocktail bar. Having an apartment to ourselves was clutch after the flight over—we exorcised the demons of our airplane clothes in the washer and dryer while we went exploring. 

I’d seen Edinburgh’s legendary bespoke outfitter Stewart Christie & Co on Outlander stars Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish’s Scottish road trip show, Men in Kilts, and I was eager to see it in person. Started in 1700, the shop specializes in custom tartan, tweed, Scottish regalia, and sporting attire.

If you ever want to go to a Scottish hunting lodge, or just look like you belong there, this is where you go. They have ancient books filled with tartan swatches and can make a custom jacket, suit, or kilt for you out of any tweed or tartan known to man. Co-owner Daniel Fearn opened his book for me at random to the exact tartan my grandfather used to tell me was our family pattern, and I couldn’t help but get chills.

At cocktail hour, we went to the top floor of our hotel for a drink at The Register Club, then to dinner across town at KORA by Tom Kitchin.

Chef Tom Kitchin is Edinburgh’s most famous hometown chef. His flagship restaurant, The Kitchin, earned a Michelin star by celebrating the local seafood that has long been prized elsewhere in the UK and in Europe. Kora has a more neighborhood restaurant vibe, and the menu is focused on Scottish ingredients from both land and sea. The food is artful and extremely good, with many tapas-style small plate options. 

After a stellar Scottish breakfast at our hotel (theirs blow American breakfasts out of the water) we sprung the Range Rover from the posh car park and set out for the ferry to Islay. I soon learned that driving in Scotland is both beautiful and terrifying. Beautiful because it’s a constant visual feast. The weather is always changing, so you have rain on the windshield but you’re looking out over a Loch with sun gleaming on the water, or you’re in bright sun but you’re watching a rainstorm drench a green mountainside in the distance.

Terrifying because as an American driving a full-size vehicle, the narrow roads are a source of near-constant white-knuckle stress. Passing oncoming cars, you get the sensation that you’re going to lose a sideview mirror. But if you cheat to the left to avoid this, you run the risk of grinding the stone curbs that border main roads in Scotland instead of the forgiving flat shoulders of US highways. Not to mention the many one-lane roads with pull-offs for passing, where you can find yourself playing chicken with a tractor.

My wife and I worked out a system where I’d focus on the oncoming traffic, and she’d yell “curb” if I ever edged too far towards the sharp granite. It was yelled far more than I would like to admit.

After a quick stop at Inveraray Castle, which was barely 100 yards off our route, we made it to the Kennacraig ferry and lined up with the other cars. Getting blasted by wind and rain as we looked West towards the whisky Holy Land of Islay in the foggy distance.  

Islay

There’s a quick flight from Glasgow to Islay, but I’ll take a big boat over a small plane any day. Caledonian-MacBrayne ferries, known here as CalMac, service the many islands surrounding Scotland.

The ship was far nicer than the ferries I’m used to in the US. We sat in a lounge at the bow and had lattes and chips. With the islands of Islay and Jura as your view, the two-hour trip flew by. Soon we were slowing down as the towers of Dunlossit Castle at Port Askaig  came into view. Islay’s northernmost ferry stop is a stone’s throw from Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain, and Ardnahoe distilleries. 

Islay is a rugged island with a tundra-esque landscape, measuring 25 miles long and 15 miles wide with a population of around 3,000. Because of its distance from the mainland taxmen of old, it’s home to nine of the world’s finest whisky distilleries. Coal was hard to come by here, so the distilleries used native peat moss in their kilns, which created the distinctive smoky flavor for which Islay whiskies are known.   

We drove through gale force winds down the one-lane driveway to The Machrie Hotel and Golf Links, the island’s most luxurious digs with a stellar restaurant and a world-class golf course. Stepping into the lobby, we were met with a wood-burning fireplace in a cozy living room space that led to the pro shop. Our room overlooked the course, which is camouflaged in the tall grass along the water, so it looks more like a nature preserve than an over-manicured links. 

The Machrie’s restaurant was worth staying in for, and after a good night’s sleep with the white noise of ocean wind, we had a breakfast of Scottish salmon eggs Benedict surrounded by a United Nations of golfers, then headed off for our first distillery tour of the trip: Lagavulin. 

The most remarkable aspect of Islay is how remote it feels relative to how famous its exports are. You’re driving by Lagavulin, Ardbeg, and Laphroaig and they’re all neighbors and everyone knows everyone in the local whisky business. Everyone has an uncle who works here, or a grandfather or dad who worked there, or a brother. It’s hard to imagine another product that has such a global reach but starts in such a humble setting. 

On a cold and rainy Monday morning, we arrived at Lagavulin. We stepped into the tiny gift shop with low ceilings and shelves selling whiskies: 8-year, 12-year, 16-year, 25-year, and a special distillery edition. We waited for our warehouse tour in a small wood-clad room furnished with a large ship model, a leather armchair, a fireplace, and shelves of whisky awards. 

Lagavulin was the first fine Scotch I ever tasted. At 22, I wasn’t ready for the peaty smoke, but now my palate has either evolved or devolved to a point where I truly crave it. Particularly on the dreary kind of day when we visited. We joined a dozen other devotees in a barrel warehouse where a guide named Ian McArthur, who the locals call “Pinkie” because of his stature, runs the show.

McArthur was born in Islay and has worked at Lagavulin for 52 years. He’s small in size but massive in presence. A gifted storyteller and effortless charmer, as the Warehouse Keeper he hosts tastings of rare expressions—many of which you can’t even buy at retail—for whisky pilgrims from around the world. 

A brilliant part of whisky tastings in Scotland is if you’re driving, they’ll give you Driver Drams for later. The only exception is with the really rare stuff because they don’t want you selling it. We ended up with a fantastic batch of Driver Drams, and some good “Ileach” (the name for locals) stories about growing up in a world where everyone you know works at one distillery or another.

Listening to McArthur, it was clear that top-shelf whisky is just as special here as it is anywhere. They don’t get it for free just for working in a distillery, it’s not cheap to buy in local stores, and even though they’re around thousands of gallons of it every day, they drink it with genuine reverence.

After a lunch of fish and chips at the Bowmore Hotel bar, we drove to the Atlantic side of Islay to Bruichladdich Distillery, producer of single malt whiskies and The Botanist Gin. Head Forager James Donaldson sources gin botanicals from the island, and in a small stucco-walled outbuilding, he showed us where freshly picked mint, thyme, and chamomile dry on racks before they’re combined together in cotton sacks to flavor the gin like giant tea bags.

The still that makes The Botanist is called “Ugly Betty,” and there’s a “Bruichladder” running up to where they put in the delicate botanicals (heartier ones like Juniper go directly into the still). In the larger nearby stills, they make their incredible whiskies, like the unpeated Classic Laddie, the smoky Port Charlotte, and the very smoky Octomore. 

“If you help someone out on Islay, it’s not money they pay you with, it’s whisky,” says Gordon MacDougall, Bruichladdich’s Assistant Distillery Manager.

MacDougall is a true Ileach, born and raised. He’s worked for Bruichladdich for ten years, working his way up to his current post. Before that, he was a peat cutter, and before that, a milkboy at his family’s dairy farm. No matter how fancy the bottle is on the liquor store shelf, it’s the devotion to the hard work of making great whisky that makes what’s inside the bottle taste as good as it does. 

After a morning walk through the Machrie Links to the beach on our last day on Islay, we loaded up the Range Rover to visit the wild child of Islay whisky: Ardbeg. 

Ardbeg is serious whisky, but the vibe at the distillery is anything but. From the moment you arrive at the distillery and see the Airstream food truck and the graffiti painted on the stillhouse, you know you’ve found the playful side of Islay whisky. There’s a different energy here; much more of a party vibe. Every Spring, Ardbeg hosts a blowout bash for the Fèis Ìle, the Islay Festival that draws whisky lovers from around the world.

Known for its heavy peat, Ardbeg is unapologetically bold, and so are the people who make it. We walked through the stillhouse with visitor center manager Jackie Thomson, a former soccer radio announcer who is also Chairman of the Ardbeg Committee, the global community of Ardbeg fans.

Before departing, we met distillery manager Colin Gordon—a Lagavulin veteran who’s currently steering Ardbeg’s whisky range. Ardbeg is constantly releasing limited editions like Heavy Vapours and BizarreBQ to give Ardbeg fans new experiences. 

Oban & Port Appin

After taking the ferry back to the mainland from Port Ellen to Kennacraig, we drove two hours north to the tiny hamlet of Port Appin and the Pierhouse Hotel—a romantic inn and restaurant across a gravel road from a ferry stop and fishing dock.

The setting is one of the most magical places I’ve ever seen, and certainly the most stunning place I’ve ever spent the night. The hotel overlooks an inlet with a lighthouse on an island, brightly colored fishing boats bobbing in the waves, and a backdrop of green mountains.

Dinner at the restaurant was also one of the best meals we had in Scotland. The seafood is so fresh that the kitchen staff are known to run across the street on a busy night to pull Langoustines from traps—even wading out up to their chef whites in high tide. We had fresh mussels, raw local oysters, and their rich Cullen Skink, a smoked-fish chowder, with French wine and homemade fresh-baked bread. The dining room has a panoramic view that keeps changing with the time of day, the weather, and the ferry schedule across the inlet.  

We woke up the next morning feeling recharged in body and soul. Then we headed South to the waterfront town of Oban to visit its famous namesake distillery. Oban is different from most other Scottish distilleries because it’s in the middle of town instead of in the countryside. It’s been there since 1794, and they can’t just add more buildings to increase production, so the physical footprint of the distillery naturally limits how much whisky Oban can produce. Instead of parking in a large lot with other tourists, here you walk straight in off the street into the tasting room.

Our tour guide was a retired British policeman named Mike Wood. He walked us through the process with charm, humor, and a lawman’s knack for boiling things down to brass tacks. Because of the very slight amount of peat in Oban, it’s a perfect gateway for people who say they don’t like smoky Scotch.

It’s one of my absolute favorites, but I had to settle for the Driver Drams at the tasting. We had the longest drive of the trip ahead of us that evening, past Loch Ness North and then crossing the country Eastward to Speyside: home to Macallan, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Chivas, Benromach, Dalwhinnie, and many more legendary distilleries. 

Speyside

Speyside is in the heart of the Scottish Highlands and named for the River Spey that runs through it. It takes a lot of water to make whisky, which is why there are so many distilleries here. If you drink Scotch, you’ve almost certainly imbibed from this river at some point. When we arrived in the valley of the Spey, the leaves on the trees were orange and gold and the landscape reminded me of Autumn in New England—far more familiar than the tundra-like Islay. 

Our base camp in Speyside was the Craigellachie Hotel in the town of Aberlour—a grand old manse overlooking the river with a cozy restaurant and pub downstairs, the Copper Dog, and the world-famous 120-year-old Quaich Bar, a whisky temple with over 1,000 single malts on offer.

Sitting at this bar, you’re surrounded by Scotch lovers from all over the world. It’s here where I realized that the way alcohol is sold in Scotland is superior to how it’s sold in the U.S. when your goal is tasting as many whiskies possible: They come in smaller pours (and with smaller prices unless you’re getting the really rare stuff) so you can try four whiskies for the cost and size of two shots in the U.S.  

Speyside is a who’s who of whisky. At every intersection are arrows pointing you to every distillery that starts with a “Glen-“, plus Dewars, Chivas, Macallan, Benriach, Cardhu, and on and on.

We headed to The Balvenie, which is named for a nearby castle and is the smaller sibling of Glenfiddich. At its wooded unpaved lot only big enough for a few cars, you’re told by discreet signs that unless you’ve booked a tour, turn around. There is no public tasting room at Balvenie, and the small tours of a handful of people must be booked in advance. We had a private tour with a writer named James, who was more young university professor than tour guide, in the best possible way.

We had a tasting in the small “dramming room,” where they only host about three per day. Sipping whisky from Glencairn glasses on a leather couch overlooking the countryside is the right way to taste it, so if you’ve got the ability to plan ahead, this is an intimate way to witness the entire process from barrel cooperage, to malting, to distilling, to barrel, to bottle. 

We headed North to the town of Elgin for dinner at Orrin Restaurant, a place that has built a stellar reputation since it opened less than two years ago. Chef-owner Andy Fyfe grew up in Elgin but left it as a young man to build a career as a chef in Glasgow. He returned to raise a family and put his hometown on Scotland’s culinary map, and together with his wife, Ellis, Fyfe is building a new foundation for high-end food and service here.

“I wanted to stop people leaving Elgin for dinner, and get people coming here,” says Fyfe, who humbly describes his cuisine as “good honest food with high-quality produce.” It is beautiful, offering world-class food and cocktails in an atmosphere that is elevated but not stuffy. If you make it to this part of Scotland, a meal at Orrin is not to be missed.  

The Best Road In Scotland

The Old Military Road, or the A93, is perhaps the finest road in a country with some of the best driving roads in the world. We chose this route for our final leg of the trip, from Speyside back to Edinburgh, after some research kept singling it out as truly living up to its lore. 

It was a hell of a time getting to the start of the route from Speyside because of road closures, but this drive through the Highlands is worth every extra minute it added to the trip. We passed Balmoral Castle, then stopped for a quick lunch in the town of Braemar.

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Here’s a thing that happens in Scotland: You stop randomly at a café called The Bothy, which doesn’t look like much from the street. Then you walk in and realize that it overlooks one of the most beautiful waterfalls you’ve ever seen. And you wonder what other spontaneous experiences you’ve driven right past without knowing it. It’s moments of discovery like this that make you feel a deep need to come back to this country. 

Heading south from Braemar through the Cairngorms National Park was the best stretch of the drive—curving along streams overflowing in the rain, hillsides dotted with sheep, and craggy mountains on all sides. Driving the Range Rover down this winding road was an adrenaline shot that brought out my inner Jeremy Clarkson (all but the anti-Duchess of Sussex part, that is).   

Edinburgh

We spent our last night in Scotland at the Gleneagles Townhouse, an urban outpost of the fabled five-star country estate resort, Gleneagles. We had ambitions of exploring the city a little more, but as soon as we walked into the hotel, we knew we wouldn’t be leaving until check-out the next day.

The Gleneagles Townhouse is partly a private club, so some areas are members only. But anyone can book a room here, dine in the restaurant, drink in the wine bar, or have cocktails on the rooftop. The staff and management here clearly understand that all truly great hotels employ a sense of theatre, and the tone they achieve here is just right.

Hip hotels can be too snooty, luxury hotels can be too fawning, but here they create hip-luxury without succumbing to either pitfall. Flagship restaurant The Spence occupies a space off the lobby with the scale of a cathedral and the cupola ceiling to match. And the rooftop bar overlooks St. Andrew Square and the city beyond. The rooms exude grandeur of another era, with massive clawfoot tubs and canopy beds. It’s the kind of place you just don’t want to leave, and it makes you conscious of every minute you get to spend here. 

A week in Scotland made us crave it as a bigger part of our lives. I could say the usual things like, ‘The people are great, it’s so pretty, great food,’ but those kinds of compliments feel far too stock for Scotland.

If you like making friends of strangers. If you want to meet people who look you in the eyes when you talk to them and mean what they say. If you like eating food that tastes the way you’d make food for someone you love, or at least deeply respect. If you like the idea of a landscape and nature that, no matter how well-traveled you are, will constantly dazzle you with a sense of wonder and obliterate your cynicism, then Scotland is for you. The fact that the country also produces the best whisky in the world is just icing on the cake. 

Our pal Mick Shirley was an hour early meeting us in the lobby the next morning, so we bid a bittersweet adieu to the hotel. Along with the keys to the Range Rover, we wanted to show our gratitude to Mick in some way. Then we remembered the console was still full of the Driver Drams of the finest whiskies we’d encountered all week. 

“Everything in the console is yours,” I said. 

He over looked at me with a sly smile.

“Shirley you must be joking.” 

At a certain point, entering the rarified world of Bugatti automobiles is as much about the lifestyle itself as what’s under the hood. And what better to complement a fast-paced lifestyle than with a residence built in lockstep with impressive luxury top of mind?

The just-announced Bugatti Residences epitomize what you might call the “Bugatti lifestyle,” and that’s perhaps an understatement.

To witness plans for the development is to be blown away by Bugatti’s vision for blending the world of high-end auto design with astonishing luxury in the next frontier of real estate.

The state-of-the-art, futuristic development is being designed by Bugatti in partnership with Emirati property development company BinGhatti, and it certainly looks to stand out in the ever-expanding skyline of Dubai.

At its core is a “meticulously designed structure” boasting everything from a private valet to two garage-to-penthouse car lifts (naturally).

It makes perfect sense, as the luxury real estate and auto worlds continue to intersect in ever-more diverse ways — the project joins equally impressive undertakings like Aston Martin’s global residences.

Luxury and design innovation also sits at the driving heart of the Bugatti Residences, the automaker said of the “phenomenal architectural masterpiece.”

The building features 171 Riviera Mansions and 11 Sky Mansion Penthouses with decidedly next-level amenities — that list includes a Riviera-inspired beach, a private pool and jacuzzi spa, and chef’s table.

With its sleek curves, premium amenities and carefully considered details, Bugatti said the development “brings the breeze and feel of the French Riviera into this private oasis,” not unlike it intensely detailed and precisely designed hyper sports cars.

Taking the Bugatti lifestyle a step further just became a little more accessible — at least, to a very privileged few who can afford to go the extra mile.

In 1875 the Colonel James Moir founded a distillery on the crescent coast of Sandend Bay, its placement by the smashing waves of the North Sea lending his spirit an inimitable influence. While his Glenglassaugh Distillery crafted coveted whisky for centuries, primarily for blends, the 1980s “Whisky Loch” crash that sank hundreds of distilleries across Scotland felled the Colonel’s endeavor as well. 

Until December of 2008, that is, when the mothballed distillery resurrected its whisky-making soul. All the while barrels of its luscious single malt treasure rested in the mothballed Sandend Bay cellars, soaking in their wood and littoral climate while they awaited their raison d’être. 

It has been the duty of Glenglassaugh Master Blender Rachel Barrie to periodically sample these rare casks to see when one might be ready to share with the world. Recently she pulled a whisky thief filled with ancient spirit from cask #1978, tasted its golden Highland elixir, and instantly recognized its time had come. 

We had a chance to ask the distinguished Master Blender a couple questions about this oh-so-unique $4,800 expression, and Barrie’s answers rang with so much Scottish poetry we decided to offer them to you uncut—much like her nearly half-century old barrel of Highland single malt. 

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What specific terroir elements does Sandend Bay bring to the Glenglassaugh table?

It’s impossible to separate Glenglassaugh the whisky from Glenglassaugh the place. The lush sweetness of this coastal single malt is a complete distillation of its natural surroundings in Sandend Bay. Its whole essence is created by both the visible and invisible influences of land, sea, air and spring water.

With exceptionally rich mineral water used to distill Glenglassaugh (five times the average mineral content of Scottish water) and coastal microflora surrounding the distillery in Sandend Bay, a unique and highly distinctive coastal tropical sweetness is created in the spirit. 

During decades of maturation in our coastal warehouses, the microflora and fresh elemental ocean air uniquely coalesce with spirit and oak to shape a luscious elixir with rolling waves of complexity and a luxurious and timeless taste.

You’ve waited almost a half century for this barrel to reach its peak. What qualities specific to this cask let you know it’s ready to be shared with the world? 

There are very few treasured old and rare casks remaining in the coastal warehouses at Glenglassaugh Distillery, and those that have reached their 40s or even 50s in age are extremely rare indeed. Cared for under the watchful eye of the warehouse team, I regularly checked in on the liquid gold maturing inside this cask, using senses alone to ascertain if it had reached perfection. 

I discovered that cask #1978, distilled on 3rd September 1975, had reached perfection at 46 years old, polished on the shores of Sandend Bay.

This 46 year old elixir was one of a very few remaining casks of very old Glenglassaugh. With only 215 bottles left at a natural cask strength of 41.7% ABV, it was time to bottle the luxurious and perfectly balanced liquid at its peak, with an abundance of seductive tropical and ripe summer fruit, finessed on an ocean breeze. 

Tell us a bit about the cask itself, and what particular flavors you enjoy most with this unique expression? 

Glenglassaugh 46 Year Old has been shaped by maturation in both second-fill and first-fill American oak, amplifying the taste of silk and creating a harmonious balance of tropical and sumptuous ripe fruit. With luscious waves of mango, plum and cherry, rolling on a seductive ocean breeze, Glenglassaugh 46 is quite simply the quintessential coastal single malt. Long maturation in American oak has amplified the taste of silk, creating an elixir of lush tropical sweetness kissed by the ocean breeze. 

What are the challenges of resurrecting a distillery that was mothballed for decades? 

Glenglassaugh was reawakened after more than two decades of slumber in December 2008, initially producing small volumes, which culminated in the launch of a number of small-batch bottling releases in the years that followed. Fortunately, the distillery has proven to be stalwart in weathering the storms of its checkered past since its foundation in 1875 and is now sustaining distillation of Glenglassaugh spirit through its two stills, in the same way as the past, patiently looking forward to the bright future ahead.

Since its reawakening, Glenglassaugh’s quintessential coastal character has proved timeless, shining through just as it had in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. We are extremely fortunate that a small number of these old and rare hidden gems still rest in our coastal warehouses, their sublime and luscious beauty a testament of the timeless nature of Glenglassaugh’s spirit. In recent years, production has slowly and steadily increased, with room to grow, as we continue to lay down Glenglassaugh spirit to mature in our coastal warehouses.

Only 215 bottles of Glenglassaugh 46 could be pulled from the barrel, all bottled at cask strength (41.7% ABV), non-chill filtered and naturally colored. Sealed with wax and hand-numbered, Glenglassaugh 46 retails for $4,800.

Follow Contributing Spirits Editor Nicolas Stecher at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.

The party doesn’t start until Rihanna walks in. In a typical RiRi move, her and ASAP Rocky arrived fashionably late to this year’s Met Gala. But rest assured, the singer and Fenty beauty mogul didn’t keep us waiting for nothing—her Met Gala glam was worth it. 

For her makeup look, Rihanna dipped into old Hollywood glamour, sporting a bold red lip and a bouffant hairstyle (under all the white florals she’s enshrouded with). Rihanna’s bold lips are a departure from many of the looks seen on the carpet tonight—while we saw tons of pink pops, eye jewels, and micro-bangs, the star kept her makeup simple and classic. 

Though the star accessorized with false eyelash sunglasses and white florals everywhere, this kind of timeless red lip is the perfect way to end a night dedicated to Karl Lagerfeld, a man who is most famous for his designs for Chanel. If Lagerfeld’s legacy were reinterpreted into a beauty look, we’re pretty sure that a bold red lip, the French girl staple, would be the centerpiece. As usual, Rihanna wins—and we’re not surprised at all. 

Next, Here Is Every Red Carpet Beauty Look You Need to See From the 2023 Met Gala

I’ve been excited about this year’s Met Gala since the moment last year’s ended. Now that the day has finally arrived, I have no qualms saying that the event has truly outdone itself. This year’s unparalleled red carpet looks paid homage to Karl Lagerfeld, one of fashion’s most prolific designers.

That said, it’s not a real party until Rihanna arrives—and she was definitely fashionably late as the Met Gala’s very last arrival (by a long shot). She skipped last year’s Met Gala because she gave birth to her firstborn a mere 11 days after the event, but this year she was thankfully able to walk the steps again. Now pregnant with her second child, Rihanna showed off her baby bump much to the delight of fans. Scroll down to see Rihanna’s 2023 Met Gala look. 

“For a girl from the Bronx, to meet someone like Karl [Lagerfeld] was an honor,” Jennifer Lopez said to Lala Anthony, the host of this year’s Met Gala livestream, on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where fashion’s biggest names have gathered on this, the first Monday in May, to celebrate the late designer. “If you think of five people in fashion, he’s one of them.” As such a big fan of Lagerfeld’s work, Lopez had no choice but to show up to tonight’s Met Gala in a top-tier look. And that, she certainly did.

For her umpteenth Met Gala since her debut in 2004, the singer-actress worked with legendary American designer Ralph Lauren to craft an ode to Lagerfeld in dress form. The result? A black-and-pink gown made of both velvet and silk that featured a 3D flower motif made of feathers and a large ab-baring cutout. On the accessories front, she added a black fascinator, a matching baby-pink clutch, Lorraine Schwartz jewels, and her signature sky-high platform heels (this particular pair is from Piferi), which every so often could be spotted on the carpet peaking out from under her floor-sweeping hem. To see her interpretation of this year’s theme, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” in all of its glory, start scrolling.

Next up: Kate Moss Wore a Couture Nightgown to the Met Gala, and We’re Obsessed

Whenever I’m talking about workouts and athleisure at the WWW office, Alo always enters the convo. With its supremely high-quality fabrics, array of trendy colors, and modern cuts that are fit for a runway, the brand’s loyal following among the fashion crowd is no surprise. I’ve been an Alo customer for years (I have a closet full of pieces as proof), and I rarely see a sale as good as the annual Aloversary event, with discounts up to 30% percent sitewide until May 5. I’m going to use this sale as an excuse to stock up on all my favorites—and you should, too. Whether your activewear vibe is black-on-black, jewel-toned separates, or fluorescent neon sets, you’re bound to find your new favorite activewear pieces here. Keep scrolling to see the 16 gems I’m shopping immediately.

As stars arrive at this year’s Met Gala, every beauty and fashion fan is glued to their screens. This year’s theme is “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” and the dress code du jour is “in honor of Karl.” For beauty, however, anything goes—but we’re starting to sense an emerging trend. 

In the beauty realm, the color of the hour is undeniably pink. The best part of this materializing color trend is that stars are taking the classic color and subverting it in the most interesting ways to make their makeup stand out. Stars have pops of neon pink blush, rosy eyelids, and pale pink lips. Keep reading to see the best uses of pink at tonight’s Met Gala.  

Next, OMG, Jessica Chastain Just Showed Up to the Met Gala, and She’s Bleach Blonde

After 12 long months, it’s finally time again for the Met Gala, which, in addition to supporting one of New York City’s most iconic landmarks, just so happens to be fashion’s biggest night. After two years spent focusing on all things American fashion, 2023’s theme shifted to something more specific: Karl Lagerfeld. The late designer was best known for this work as the longtime Creative Director of Chanel, though his pieces can likewise be found in the archives at Fendi, Chloé, Balmain, and more iconic fashion brands. And for one night—the first Monday in May—they can all be honored in one place.

Whilst some attendees went the more classic route, Kendall Jenner did anything but, arriving on the ivory carpet wearing not pants nor a gown, but a collared, sequin bodysuit worn with nothing but diamond earrings and sky-high platform boots (casual). The supermodel’s custom Marc Jacobs look alludes to Lagerfeld’s signature high-collared shirts, which he famously wore with fingerless, leather gloves, and black sunglasses. Scroll down to see how Jenner brought the no-pants trend to the Met Gala in 2023. 

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The Met Gala is happening in New York City, and there is certainly no shortage of epic looks from the evening. Tonight’s soirée is all about Karl Lagerfeld, the designer behind some of fashion’s most iconic ensembles, thanks to his time at the helm of Chanel, Balmain, Fendi, Chloé, and more lauded labels. And as one of the models Lagerfeld worked with most in the ’90s (he’s said to have called this model “the free girl of our times,” according to British Vogue), Kate Moss was, of course, in attendance. 

Moss, who attended alongside her daughter Lila Moss and Artistic Director of Fendi Kim Jones, went for a silhouette she regularly wore during her modeling days in the ’90s: a simple slip dress. Specifically, the supermodel wore a lingerie-like nightgown from Jones’s S/S 23 couture collection, which was created exclusively for Moss. According to a press release from Fendi, the dress was crafted out of silk satin and decorated with lace meant to represent “a floral motif with a soaring silhouette playing with transparencies for an extreme feminine allure.” Moss added a silk-georgette dressing gown to “evoke a floating, ethereal sensation in movement.” 

Keep scrolling to see Moss’s Met-Gala nightgown on the red carpet. 

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