Rita Ora Came to the 2023 Met Gala With Foot-Long Chains Attached to Her Nails

rita ora met gala nails 2023 — (Image credit: Getty)

The Met Gala red carpet, which is themed “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” has only just begun and we’ve already seen some innovative nods to the fashion icon’s legacy. Topping the list? Rita Ora’s amazingly over-the-top manicure, which was complete with foot-long chains. “Rita was close to Karl, so she wanted to make sure she paid homage to him in a way that was meaningful to her,” celebrity nail artist Naomi Yasuda said in a press release shared with Marie Claire. “Her nail look is a take on a deconstructed Chanel necklace."

Achieving the look was naturally a multi-step process and unfortunately, amateurs aren’t going to be able to DIY. Alas, the Met is about extravagant glamour, so allow us to indulge you in the dramatic manicure. It required absurdly long pointed nail extensions at the get-go. Once they were painted with Manucurist Green Flash in shade Licorice, Yasuda glued on individual charm adornments reminiscent of a Chanel necklace. But that’s just the beginning. Once everything was dried down and cured by an LED lamp, each nail was punctured with a small hole so that the chains, which featured delicate little pearls, could be attached.

Even though Ora’s nails stole the show, the rest of her beauty look was equally as stunning. She played up her natural hair texture with brushed-through, and slightly teased waves, and leaned into soft glam. Makeup artist Anthony H. Nguyen prepped the singer-songwriter’s skin with ReVive Skincare before going in with makeup. The final look? Eyes that took up a smoky hue, a bronzed complexion that gave a lil extra love to the cheekbones, and a subdued, subtle nude lip.

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Ora’s Met Gala glam may have come together in just a few hours, but she’s been counting down to the big event since she rolled out of bed this morning. She shared a makeup-free selfie from the comfort of her hotel room and followed that up with a stoic-looking photo of Kate Moss captioned, “Me people watching at the Met this evening.” I guess we know what she’ll be up to once she enters the Met Gala doors.

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Samantha Holender is the Senior Beauty Editor at Marie Claire, where she reports on the best new launches, dives into the science behind skincare, and shares the breakdown on the latest and greatest trends in the beauty space. She's studied up on every ingredient you'll find on INCI list and is constantly in search of the world's glowiest makeup products. She's constantly tracking the biggest nail and hair trends to pop up in the beauty space, going backstage during fashion weeks, tracking celebrity looks, and constantly talking to celebrity hair stylists, nail artists, and makeup artists. Prior to joining the team, she worked as Us Weekly’s Beauty and Style Editor, where she stayed on the pulse of pop culture and broke down celebrity beauty routines, hair transformations, and red carpet looks. Her words have also appeared on Popsugar, Makeup.com, Skincare.com, Delish.com, and Philadelphia Wedding. Samantha also serves as a board member for the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME). She first joined the organization in 2018, when she worked as an editorial intern at Food Network Magazine and Pioneer Woman Magazine. Samantha has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs. While at GWU, she was a founding member of the school’s HerCampus chapter and served as its President for four years. When she’s not deep in the beauty closet or swatching eyeshadows, you can find her obsessing over Real Housewives and all things Bravo. Keep up with her on Instagram @samholender.