Doja Cat responded to all questions with a meow. Alia Bhatt wore a one-lakh pearl studded gown at her Met Gala 2023 debut that we thought was too safe for its legacy. And Jared Leto, who posed in an oversized mascot version of Karl Lagerfeld’s much-loved cat Choupette, grabbed eyeballs on the red carpet. But wait, this year’s carpet wasn’t red. It was beige with red and blue swirling lines painted by designers in America. Not wool, it was sisal. Not firang, it was made in Alleppey. 
   
The ground that the celebrities stood on, posing for the photographers to click them at what is the world’s biggest annual fashion extravaganza, has become as famous as them. When last did a carpet go viral? 

Unlike the Oscars, the Met Gala didn’t always have a red carpet experience. British fashion editor Hamish Bowles is seen walking up the concrete steps of the MMoA in 1998