Forget Florence Pugh’s buzz cut for a moment. Stop crying over the early demise of the carpet cockroach. And pause your applause for Michaela Coel’s breathtakingly beautiful Schiaparelli jewel-encrusted gold gown. Why? Because Choupette Lagerfeld’s agent is here to share the cat’s 'hot take' on the star-studded night.
Hours after the likes of Suki Waterhouse, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna and more descended on the red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts for its annual fundraising gala, Lucas Bérullier – the agent for Choupette, a blue-cream tortie Birman cat and the famous pet of late German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld until his death in 2019 – has spoken to ELLE UK over the phone from Paris to give the feline's thoughts on the ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty'-inspired Gala.
‘I think people understand with the level of fame that she’s got and the requests she receives, she needs to have an agent who helps guide her,’ Bérullier said of his role as the Choupette's agent.
‘[Choupette] would’ve been amused by the theme and perhaps think that we’re all a bit too crazy, but she appreciates everyone celebrating Karl's honour,' he noted. 'She loves that people give unconditional love to her without having met her in real life… it’s something that she’s blessed with and humbles her.’
On Monday night, actor Jared Leto arrived at the Met Gala wearing an enormous fluffy Choupette-inspired mascot outfit. Speaking about the star's look, Bérullier said: 'We knew there were a lot of things happening around Choupette. A lot of people extended invitations to us to walk the red carpet with Choupette. I won’t disclose their names, but there were numerous people. We very politely declined [the invites, but] we knew the plan was to get something very close to looking like a cat [on the carpet]. We were quite amused – we're very impressed by the details and the accuracy of Jared’s look.
‘I know every single corner and angle of Choupette’s face – she’s the most photographed cat in the world – and I get to look at every picture and select them before posting them [on Instagram]. He resembled the real Choupette – the eyes, whiskers and colouring. Even the length of the fur was quite accurate. The only exception was his position – she never stands on two feet,’ he laughed.
‘The media attention has sparked our interest to meet with Jared and do a photoshoot with him... I don’t want him getting rid of that beautiful costume. He needs to have good use of it! Perhaps there’s something big we can do…’
American rapper and singer Doja Cat also took inspiration from the cat, wearing a prosthetic cat nose and a Swarovski-crystallised custom hooded Oscar de la Renta gown, fitted with cat ears. The musician took her cat inspiration one step further on the night as she was regularly heard 'miaowing' to her fellow guests and during interviews.
‘It was less representative of who Choupette is,’ Bérullier noted of the singer’s look. ‘Choupette isn’t the friendliest of cats… she is quite sophisticated and has a good judgement and opinion. She would have a strong opinion [on Doja's oufit] – I’m not sure if it was negative or positive. As long as it was made to honour and glorify, rather than shame, cats she’d love it as it’s good for the species.’
Despite being invited to the event, Choupette shared the news on Monday that she wouldn’t be attending. ‘Many people invited me to walk the red carpet of the #METGALA2023 in tribute to Daddy, but we preferred to stay peacefully & cozy at home,’ the Instagram account @choupetteofficiel stated. ‘We pay tribute to my Daddy every day since his parting and we are very moved to see one more day dedicated to him.’
Bérullier tells us that Choupette slept throughout the gala due to the time difference between France and the US, but has gained over 70,000 Instagram followers over night. ‘She plays and eats and entertains herself at her own schedule, so last night she was sleeping, enjoying her own time, and pampering herself. She didn’t watch the Gala, but this morning she’s received a lot of love and admiration letters. A lot of people have requested media requests.'
How will Choupette be celebrating today? ‘I’m about to go and see her with a beautiful cat dish and a Champagne bottle,’ Bérullier notes.
According to the NY Times, Choupette was born in August 2011, and first belonged to Baptiste Giabiconi, a French model and Lagerfeld muse, before the late designer reportedly developed an affection for the feline and wanted to become her owner. ‘When he came back, I told him that the cat was not returning to his house, and I kept it, this kind of genius creature,’ Lagerfeld told The Cut in 2018.
Under Lagerfeld’s ownership, Choupette was known to have lived a life of luxury, flying on private jets, owning an iPad, eating from Goyard dishes, (‘one for water, one for her little croquette and one for her pâté’, according to Lagerfeld), and appeared on several Vogue covers alongside the likes of Linda Evangelista and Gisele Bündchen.
Choupette has remained busy and cemented her place in fashion circles since her owner’s passing. She currently lives in in Paris with her nanny, Françoise Caçote, a former housekeeper for Lagerfeld, and has close to 200,000 Instagram followers.
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