Vogue’s annual Met Gala always causes roars of mentions on social media. This year’s ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty’-themed event is no exception. We followed the conversation online to see which brands and celebs made the most impact.

Read on to discover the biggest talking points that surfaced across social media conversations during the Met Gala 2023. 

Note on methodology: All the data mentioned here was gathered from 6pm EST to roughly 9:45pm EST (the time frame of the Met Gala 2023 event).

The Met Gala’s influence

Every year, the Met Gala creates millions of mentions across the internet. With eager fans glued to screens to see the iconic celebrity outfits, the conversation on social media booms. This year was no different.

With an impressive 2.6 million social media mentions related to the Met Gala during this year’s event, the show’s influence is the biggest we've ever seen (looking at data back to 2015). In fact, the hashtag #MetGala accumulated more than 12.3 billion impressions during the red carpet broadcast. This is 2.9 billion more impressions than in 2022.

Of the 2.6 million mentions related to the event, more than 2.1 million accumulated during the red carpet broadcast. Viewers are keen to discuss their favorite – and least favorite – looks, and social media is the way to do it.

We used Brandwatch Consumer Research to take a dive into emotion analysis surrounding the Met Gala. An impressive 65% of emotion-categorized mentions expressed joy as fans shared excitement towards their favorite outfits and celeb appearances.

The fashion industry as a whole tends to enjoy very positive conversations. Why? Fashion houses and designers have more than consumers: they have fan bases. Many people who might not even own a single designer piece will routinely advocate for these brands online. This is a result of carefully crafted brand identities that are working to evoke strong emotions in consumers.

The hosts

This year’s Met Gala was hosted by an impressive lineup. Dua Lipa, Penélope Cruz, Michaela Coel, and Roger Federer took on host duties this year, helping with everything from collating the guest list to deciding on the menu.

Looking at online mentions surrounding each of the four hosts for the broadcast time frame, we can see that they accumulated nearly 72,000 mentions collectively. Dua Lipa had the largest conversation by far, accounting for 74% of all host mentions online during the broadcast.

Dua’s outfit for the night consisted of over $10 million worth of diamonds, which caused plenty of chatter online. This, combined with her stunning cream archival CHANEL gown, are how she stole the show when it came to host mentions.

The most talked-about celebs

Each year, the exclusive celebrity guest list makes the Met Gala an event to watch. This year, a handful of celebs stole the show. When looking at which single minute accumulated the most mentions, we can see that this was 7:48pm EST – when Anne Hathaway took to the carpet. Fans marveled at Hathaway’s look, a white tweed Versace gown with a full-length leg slit.

Anne was, by far, the most talked about celebrity who walked the red carpet. The conversation around her appearance was impressively positive, with 74% of emotion-categorized mentions about Hathaway showing joy.

Doja Cat followed Anne as the second-most discussed celeb. Doja arrived at the carpet dressed as a cat, and wore a backless hooded silver sequin dress by Oscar de la Renta. The dress took more than 5,000 hours to create.

Met Gala royalty, Rihanna arrived fashionably late to the red carpet this year. It was believed she would not be attending – yet she did arrive with partner A$AP Rocky after the red carpet had finished. This didn’t stop online commenters guessing if she’d make an appearance and reminiscing her previous looks earlier in the night.

Let’s talk designers

While the Met Gala’s guests encourage plenty of online discussion during the event, we can’t forget the designers. The Met Gala is one of the fashion world’s biggest annual events, and designers make sure their names are heard.

CHANEL accounted for over 182,000 mentions during the broadcast. That’s 71% of all designer mentions throughout the Met Gala red carpet. Karl Lagerfeld, who inspired the event’s theme, received widespread acclaim for his work at the fashion house. This accounts for a large portion of the fashion house’s mentions. Lady Gaga, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Campbell, and Dua Lipa were among those dressed in CHANEL this year.

Versace and Thom Browne came in second and third place, respectively, for most mentioned designer. Versace’s mentions can be attributed to Anne Hathaway’s appearance alongside Donatella Versace during the carpet.

Thom Browne styled Jenna Ortega, Janelle Monáe, Sora Choi, Trevor Noah, Bella Ramsey, and more for this year’s Met Gala – and fans were impressed. Many took to social media to appreciate the looks created by the American fashion designer.

Roundup

The Met Gala is a huge opportunity for fashion brands and celebrities to make waves in online conversations, and this year was no exception. From new and old faces attending the carpet, to fashion houses putting up their best efforts when styling celebs, fans are always keen to see what looks the Met Gala creates. By using social listening to track the data, we can see who and what captured the attention of the public. Trend-savvy brands can use this information to their advantage.