Purr, inside the wild life of Choupette: The supermodel cat behind Doja’s Met Gala look

When the UK woke up to Met Gala red carpet looks this morning, a wave of confusion hit the nation. Doja Cat, Jared Leto and Lil Nas X were all dressed as cats for the biggest showbiz event of the year. It was feline fashion no matter where you looked. Doja meowed with earnest every time a microphone pointed in her direction. “WAS THE THEME FURRY OR SOMETHING?” questioned one panicked fan on Instagram.

But, no. The theme was not furry. The theme was (controversially) Karl Lagerfeld – the man responsible for revitalising Chanel’s brand in the 80s, who famously hated “ugly short men”. And, in line with the event’s invite, Doja, Jared and Lil Nas came dressed as the designers’s iconic cat Choupette, who (even after Karl’s death) still purrs in the lap of luxury— riding around in private jets and jade rolling her fur.

So, in case you’re as confused as everyone else by Doja Cat’s Met Gala look, here’s everything you need to know about Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette who inspired celebrities to channel white fluffy realness this year:

Choupette is a millionaire and lives in Paris

When Karl Lagerfeld died in 2019, he left his beloved Choupette (who he called the most important thing in his world) in the care of his former housekeeper Françoise Caçote. And, to ensure Choupette could carry on living the boujee life she was used to with his housekeeper in Paris, Karl left £1.3 million to Françoise.

Unfortunately, as Karl’s money is tied up in various companies, debts and investments, Choupette is yet to recieve this massive lump sum of cash. But, judging from her Instagram (@choupetteofficiel) she doesn’t seem too hard up and spends most of her day lounge, with the odd trip to Ibiza.

She has a ‘strong personality’

When speaking about Choupette to Women’s Wear Daily back in 2012, Karl revealed more intricate details about Choupette’s day to day routine. “[She] is kept like a woman,” he said, to much backlash.

“She has a strong personality. She has lunch and dinner with me on the table, with her own food. She doesn’t touch my food. She doesn’t want to eat on the floor. She sleeps under a pillow and she even knows how to use an iPad. She has two personal maids, for both night and day. She is beyond spoiled.”

She’s basically the biggest feline supermodel ever

As well as enjoying her life as the world’s most iconic nepo fur baby, Choupette has a thriving career as a model. Her agent, Lucas Bérullier, claimed she was the most photographed cat on the planet and revealed she’d only take on a couple of jobs a year because she’s getting older (11 cat years is 60 human years).  Previously, Choupette has appeared on the cover of Vogue, carried by Naomi Campbell.

She loves flying around on a private jet

There’s nothing Choupette loves more than to take a trip on a private jet. Karl used to fly her across the globe to shoots and, famously, Tilda Swinton’s birthday party in New York in 2013. This boujee tradition is regularly reminisced on, with snaps of Choupette lounging on a jet posted to Instagram.

Loads of celebrities were dying to dress up as Choupette

Doja Cat’s Choupette inspired Met Gala took designers at Oscar de la Renta 5,000 hours of work to create with its cat ear hood, silver sequins and white feathered train. Lil Nas X’s Swarovski crystal ensemble was similarly intricate and Jared Leto’s giant fluffy Choupette mascot fit totally dominated attention on the Met’s carpet.

And it turns out those three celebs may not have been the only stars dying to dress as Choupette for the big night:

“It’s another reason why Anna [Wintour] approves outfits,” fashion writer Mandy Lee said on TikTok ahead of the big night. “It’s to make sure everyone has their own thing going on. It’s like in high school when you post your prom dress to a Facebook group to make sure that nobody matches you.”

So, who knows how many Choupettes we might have had if it weren’t for Vogue’s editor in chief.

But she snubbed her Met Gala invite from Anna Wintour

Much like other of the world’s biggest stars, Bella Hadid, Beyoncé, Blake Lively, Choupette didn’t attend the Met Gala this year despite being on the invite list. On Instagram, she iconically told her fans: “Many people invited me to walk the red carpet of the #METGALA2023 in tribute to [Lagerfeld], but we preferred to stay peacefully & cozy at home.” Slay.

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Featured image credit via Shutterstock and Instagram.