Model as Muse, 2009
While this wasn’t Rihanna’s first Met Gala, it was the first one she proved herself as a bit of a game-changer when it came to her style.
She rocked up to the red carpet in a fitted Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo with sculpted shoulders, giving an overall powerful appearance.
While it’s definitely not her most striking look, we had to include it, given the vibes are distinctly similar to something Zendaya recently wore to the Vanity Fair Oscars After Party just a few months ago, proving RiRi’s style is timeless, it’s infinite, it’s art.
2011, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
While she still steered clear of anything too experimental, Rihanna’s 2009 look had our heads turning because it simply showed off her innate and striking beauty.
She took to the red carpet in a one-shoulder Stella McCartney dress made from delicate black lace.
She was sporting red hair at the time, which was styled into the most envy-inspiring braid that had us looking up Youtube hair tutorials for weeks after.
2015, China: Through the Looking Glass
This might be controversial given her 2017 look is yet to come, but we’re calling it early: this is Rihanna’s best Met Gala look to date.
Seven years later, it still tops list of the best Met Gala fashion (ever), because even those who aren’t really across fashion could see just how beautiful it really was.
RiRi turned up to the Met in a yellow Guo Pei gown and cape, with a train so long it probably needed a ticket of its own.
Fur-trimmed, and embroidered with scrolls of flora, the look is forever burned into our brains in the best possible way.
However, she almost didn’t wear it, thinking at the last moment that it might have been too much.
“I was driving past the red carpet, and I was just seeing gowns, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’m a clown. People are going to laugh at me’,” she admitted to Vanity Fair.
However she said she didn’t regret it – especially given some of the memes it inspired.
“The frying pan with the egg? Legendary, legendary,” she said.
2017, Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the Inbetween
Is it unfair to say this one was not our favourite?
It could be that we’re not fashion-inclined enough to ‘get it’, but we definitely prefer Rihanna's 2015 and 2018 looks over her avant garde, petal dress from Comme des Garçons.
However, we will say that her hair and makeup looked absolutely flawless, and the colour scheme was pretty beautiful, so we’re happy to include it as one of her best Met Gala looks.
2018, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
We wonder what it was like to be at the Met Gala when Rihanna turned up in this outfit.
Did everyone just feel like they could turn around and go home, having obviously lost what isn’t even a competition (but kind of is)?
Rihanna took this theme to heart and completely nailed it, turning up in a custom Maison Margiela Pope-inspired pearl and jewel-embellished white dress.
We have no words, really, so we’re going to let the pictures speak for themselves.
2021, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion
Rihanna was the final celebrity to appear on the Met Gala red carpet for 2021, leaving us in utter suspense.
Naturally, she held to her already high standards with a stunning Balenciaga coat and matching hat.
She was joined by her partner and the father of her baby, ASAP Rocky, who wore a quilt-inspired outfit from ERL. Side-by-side, they actually looked like the comfiest couple on the carpet, with the ruffles of Rihanna’s gown creating a luxe, blanketed look we wanted to live in forever.
And for 2022…
We’re watching this space, but we’re not convinced Rihanna will be there.
She’s heavily pregnant, and has been celebrating her baby bump with some pretty stunning lingerie-inspired looks when she has made it out to events, which had us pretty excited to see if she could make her baby part of her look at the Met.
However, we wouldn’t want to climb the steps of the Met in a giant gown during the last weeks of pregnancy either, so we won’t hold this one against her. As long as she’s back next year.
