Kelly Slater and Steph Gilmore attend the Met Gala

Words by Ali Klinkenberg

Photo: Josh Haner/The New York Times

Last night Kelly Slater attended the Met Gala ball in New York City. It’s a fundraising bash for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, and, it’s widely regarded as the most glamorous do of the year. This year’s gaggle of celebs, which included pretty much every famous person you could ever imagine, were obviously dressed up to the nines with the usual hit, miss and fashion maybes that accompany every red carpet event. One person who was firmly on the ‘hit’ list was our very own Robert Kelly Slater. One word: Wow.

We’ve been secretly praying that Kelly’s going to start pulling some Kering strings (Gucci, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, to name but a few), and finally our daydreams have come to fruition. The champ looked wildly dapper in his dark navy tux, black bow tie, and black brogues with navy blue suede. And, it begs the question, could this be the start of Kelly dabbling in the fab world of hi-fash? Will we see the champ prancing around the competitors area in Rio dressed in white Brioni yacht club chinos and brown suede Gucci Horsebit loafers (moderately-priced, British-made knock offs of which I wear today)? One can only hope.

KS had the lovely Stephanie Gilmore, and shabby-chic Outerknown designer John Moore on his arm for the $175,000 a table event. And what a delightful group they were. As the mainstream media’s interest continues to perpetuate the ballooning of surfing’s profile, one thing is for cert: Thank Lagerfeld that we have KS carrying the torch for our beloved sport.