The Met Gala's Unlikeliest Star Is a Billionaire Salmon Heir
On the first Monday in May, a handsome blonde stepped onto the Met Gala red carpet. Clad in a cape, loincloth-like skirt, and a nude body suit smattered with gemstones, he looked something like a high-fashion Disney prince.
As photos of the hunk began hitting social media, people wondered: Who is he?
His name is Gustav Magnar Witzøe, the 31-year-old heir to salmon fishing giant SalMar ASA, one of the world's largest producers of farmed salmon. Witzøe is, according to Forbes, worth $3.9 billion, thanks to his father's decision to gift him a nearly 50 percent stake in SalMar in 2013.
Witzøe's dad still runs the company, but Gustav Jr. is his likely successor. In the meantime, the young billionaire is making a name for himself in fashion: Last February, he made his runway debut at Thom Browne's Fall/Winter 2023 show. (He is currently represented by Idol Looks and Next Models Worldwide.)
And this isn't Witzøe's first Met Gala. He attended last year's Karl Lagerfeld-themed party in a pearl-encrusted suit by Palomo Spain.
This year, though, Witzøe upped the ante. His custom Versace ensemble nailed the night's Garden of Time dress code, inspired by J.G. Ballard's short story of the same name. Instead of florals, he looked to the work of Sir Joseph Noel Paton, a Pre-Raphaelite painter, for inspiration.
"We wanted to create the effect that Gus was almost coming out of one of the paintings," Atelier Versace told PAPER magazine.
The house's artisans succeeded — with the help of their craftsmanship, Witzøe earned the Internet's respect for his on-theme look, one that transformed him into a believable incarnation of Count Axel, the regal protagonist of J.G. Ballard's Garden of Time.
The sea of boring, black tuxedos at the Met Gala offered scarce menswear inspiration, but Witzøe's campy 'fit was a delightful diversion. Capital-F Fashion, brought to you by Big Salmon.
