For a famously reticent person, Comme des Garçon founder Rei Kawakubo has certainly conjured some wildly OTT clothes over the past four decades.

So bearing that in mind, today’s Met Gala 2017 – themed around an exhibition of the Japanese designer’s work titled The Art of In-Between – was always going to be worlds away from the prettiness of the Oscars red carpet as possible in a fashion-sense. 

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A look from the Comme des Garcons Autumn/Winter 2016 collection shot by Nick Knight
Credit: Instagram @nick_knight

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Kawakubo with Hedi Slimane at Paris Fashion Week in 2002
Credit: Getty Images

Think high fashion gothic with an exaggerated volume twist and you’ll be on track for the Japanese designer’s signature aesthetic. 

For Rei Kawakubo, black has always been the new black. 

“I have always pursued a new way of thinking about design… by denying established values, conventions and what is generally accepted as the norm,” says Kawakubo, only the second living designer after Yves Saint Laurent to be the sole subject of the fashion spectacle, which was co-chaired this year by Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, Gisele Bundchen, Tom Brady and of course, Anna Wintour. “The modes of expression that have always been most important to me are fusion, imbalance, unfinished, elimination and absence of intent.”

These 18 celebs (or more specifically, their stylists) owned the Met Gala 2017 theme

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Gigi Hadid in Tommy Hilfiger

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Dakota Johnson in Gucci with its creative director Alessandro Michele

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Rihanna in Comme des Garçon

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Thandie Newton

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Bella Hadid in Alexander Wang

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Laura Osnes

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Grace Hartzel 

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Kendall Jenner in La Perla

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Zoe Kravitz 

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Anna Cleveland

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Sonia Ben Ammar

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Ruby Rose

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Cara Delevigne in Chanel

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Lily Collins

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Amy Fine Collins

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Claire Danes

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Solange Knowles

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Katy Perry, who co-chaired the gala, in John Galliano
Credit: all images Getty Images