A Look Back at Rihanna's Most Iconic Met Gala Outfits
Bow down to the red carpet queen.
No red carpet look is ever too extra for pop culture’s baddest gal Rihanna. Year after year, the singer and style icon has continued to bring her A game to the Met Gala, stealing the spotlight as soon as she shows up at the star-studded banquet. This year was no exception. Arriving fashionably late to the soirée with boyfriend A$AP Rocky, Rihanna shut down the 2021 Met Ball carpet in the coziest of haute couture looks. Serving up a different kind of nighttime glamour, she wore a voluminous, comforter-like black coat — Look 53 from Balenciaga’s Fall 2021 Couture collection by Demna Gvasalia — with a knit cap and jewelry from Maria Tash, Thelma West and BVLGARI. Matching with Rih, Rocky wrapped himself in a giant, colorful quilt by ERL.
As the Internet swoons over Rihanna and her beau’s stylish red carpet moment, we look back on some of the most jaw-dropping looks that the Met Gala regular has blessed us with over the last decade.
As a co-chair of the 2018 Met Gala, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, the “Wild Thoughts” songstress wowed the fashion crowd donning a custom ensemble designed by John Galliano. Made up of a beaded mini dress, a matching coat and a bejeweled mitre hat, the head-turning outfit has earned the pop star the affectionate nickname, “Pope Rihanna.”
Her 2017 Met Gala look was equally memorable. Paying tribute to COMME des GARÇONS‘ Rei Kawakubo, whose boundary-pushing work was the subject of the costume exhibit that year, RiRi arrived on the red carpet in a sculptural, floral piece created by none other than the Japanese designer herself.
The pop star’s 2015 look, however, was probably her fiercest to date. Following the theme of China: Through the Looking Glass, Rihanna opted for a larger-than-life couture piece by Guo Pei that came in the form of a golden, yellow cape with furry trims.
Scroll down to refresh your memory, and while you’re here, check out the must-see beauty looks from the 2021 Met Gala.
2021: In America: A Lexicon of Fashion
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WHAT SHE WORE: An overcoat from Balenciaga’s Fall 2021 Couture collection.
2018: Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
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WHAT SHE WORE: A custom look by John Galliano.
2017: Rei Kawakubo/COMME des GARÇONS: Art of the In-Between
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WHAT SHE WORE: A COMME des GARÇONS piece and then-unreleased Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in “Mimosa Sunrise/Sangria Sunset.”
2015: China: Through the Looking Glass
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WHAT SHE WORE: A couture piece by Guo Pei.
2014: Charles James: Beyond Fashion
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WHAT SHE WORE: A Stella McCartney two-piece gown.
2012: Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations
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WHAT SHE WORE: A backless dress by Tom Ford.
2011: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
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WHAT SHE WORE: A Stella McCartney black lace gown.
