The Met Gala is the biggest night in fashion and has given birth to countless looks that now belong in the fashion history books. And now, thanks to Dua Lipa’s choice of accessories last night, the pop star has just written herself in.
As one of the co-hosts alongside Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz and Roger Federer, it was only right that the 27-year-old became the first celebrity to sport Tiffany & Co.’s new Legendary diamond. Set on Tiffany & Co’s Lucida Star necklace, the white gem pays homage to the iconic yellow Tiffany Diamond “via its near identical cushion cut”, according to Vogue.
The original Tiffany Diamond that Lipa’s necklace was modelled off of was discovered in 1877 in South Africa, and purchased by founder Charles Lewis Tiffany for $18,000. After it was fashioned into the iconic cushion-shape it is today (a process that took the then-chief gemologist George Frederic Kunz over a year), the 128.54-carat yellow diamond is the American company’s most famous piece. Valued at a staggering $30 million, only four women have worn it - socialite Mary Whitehouse in 1957, Aubrey Hepbum during her 1961 Breakfast at Tiffany’s press shots, Lady Gaga at the 2019 Academy Awards, and most recently, Beyoncé while starring in her 2021 Tiffany & Co. campaign.
“This little thing?” she said during a red carpet interview about her new version of iconic jewel. “It’s a Tiffany diamond that I feel very lucky I get to wear tonight. And yeah — they pulled it out of the vault for me.” She continued: “It’s very special, it hasn’t been seen before, that’s why I feel very lucky I get to showcase it tonight, here at the Met Gala.”
Lipa paired the necklace with a white tweed gown from Chanel’s Fall/Winter 1992 Haute Couture collection first worn on Lagerfeld muse Claudia Schiffer, which she told Variety had been on “all her mood boards forever”. She opted out of the little white top hat originally worn with the look, instead letting her hair flow down freely.
Her second time at the legendary charity ball, the Future Nostalgia singer made her debut in 2019 wearing a psychedelic patterned Atelier Versace and larger-than-life hair for the event’s Notes on “Camp” theme.
