Every ‘Extra’ Look Rihanna Has Worn to the Met Gala

Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Every ‘Extra’ Look Rihanna Has Worn to the Met Gala

We can think of a million reasons to love Rihanna, but what easily ranks in our top five is that she never hesitates to take a fashion or beauty risk on the red carpet. The Fenty Beauty founder has served up some of her most memorable looks at the Met Gala. RiRi attended her first Met Ball back in 2007, where the then-19-year-old beauty sparkled in a white grecian-inspired Georges Chakra gown with a crystal-embellished bodice that she accessorized with black fishnet gloves a la Madonna. While the gloves added a bit of edge, it was a relatively demure look for the fearless fashionista, but by 2009, she had upped her fashion game with a fabulous puffy-sleeved Dolce & Gabbana suit — and she hasn’t looked back since. She went for sleek and sexy outfits for several years, starting with a lace Stella McCartney dress featuring a sheer side panel in 2011 and an embossed Tom Ford gown in 2012. She added a little surprise in 2014 with her structured crop top and skirt combo, but it was 2015 when everything changed for the "Anti" singer. When the Barbados native stepped onto the red carpet in her infamous yellow Guo Pei gown — yes, the one that sparked endless memes — she knew that it was a make-or-break moment for her career as a style icon. “I remember being so scared to get out of that car because I felt like, ‘I’m doing too much,’" she recalled in a 2020 interview with Access Hollywood. "I was driving past the red carpet, and I was just seeing, like, gowns, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m a clown. People are going to laugh at me. This is like, too much.’ I thought that. I circled like three times, I’m not even joking. And finally, I was like, ‘Whatever, let’s go. Let’s just go. Let’s just go.’ I know. I don’t regret it." From there, the Fenty x Savage designer embraced doing the absolute most for each Met Ball theme. When the 2017 event featured a Rei Kawakuba avant-garde theme, she wore a dress that looked more like a piece of art created by the designer. When the "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Church" theme was set for 2018, Rihanna rolled up looking like the pope of fashion. From 2015’s infamous yellow train to her first year attending with ASAP Rocky, keep scrolling to see all of Rihanna’s Met Gala looks! [podcast_block]

Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Every ‘Extra’ Look Rihanna Has Worn to the Met Gala

We can think of a million reasons to love Rihanna, but what easily ranks in our top five is that she never hesitates to take a fashion or beauty risk on the red carpet. The Fenty Beauty founder has served up some of her most memorable looks at the Met Gala. RiRi attended her first Met Ball back in 2007, where the then-19-year-old beauty sparkled in a white grecian-inspired Georges Chakra gown with a crystal-embellished bodice that she accessorized with black fishnet gloves a la Madonna. While the gloves added a bit of edge, it was a relatively demure look for the fearless fashionista, but by 2009, she had upped her fashion game with a fabulous puffy-sleeved Dolce & Gabbana suit — and she hasn’t looked back since. She went for sleek and sexy outfits for several years, starting with a lace Stella McCartney dress featuring a sheer side panel in 2011 and an embossed Tom Ford gown in 2012. She added a little surprise in 2014 with her structured crop top and skirt combo, but it was 2015 when everything changed for the "Anti" singer. When the Barbados native stepped onto the red carpet in her infamous yellow Guo Pei gown — yes, the one that sparked endless memes — she knew that it was a make-or-break moment for her career as a style icon. “I remember being so scared to get out of that car because I felt like, ‘I’m doing too much,’" she recalled in a 2020 interview with Access Hollywood. "I was driving past the red carpet, and I was just seeing, like, gowns, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m a clown. People are going to laugh at me. This is like, too much.’ I thought that. I circled like three times, I’m not even joking. And finally, I was like, ‘Whatever, let’s go. Let’s just go. Let’s just go.’ I know. I don’t regret it." From there, the Fenty x Savage designer embraced doing the absolute most for each Met Ball theme. When the 2017 event featured a Rei Kawakuba avant-garde theme, she wore a dress that looked more like a piece of art created by the designer. When the "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Church" theme was set for 2018, Rihanna rolled up looking like the pope of fashion. From 2015’s infamous yellow train to her first year attending with ASAP Rocky, keep scrolling to see all of Rihanna’s Met Gala looks! [podcast_block]

Credit: Evan Agostini/Gett

Subtle Sparkle

For her first appearance at “fashion’s biggest night” in 2007, the “Umbrella” singer stunned in a white square-neck Georges Chakra gown with fishnet gloves and an asymmetrical lob in honor of the “Poiret: King of Fashion” theme.

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Suited Up

One of our favorite looks of hers, the beauty mogul opted for a dramatic Dolce & Gabbana suit and black pumps for 2009’s “The Model as Muse” event.

Credit: Getty Images

Perfect Illusion

We’re not sure what we love most about this daring ensemble at the 2011 “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” extravaganza: her sexy lace Stella McCartney gown or the Ariel-inspired red braid she paired with it. 

Credit: Larry Busacca/Getty

Black Out

RiRi showed off her fit physique at the 2012 "Schiaparelli And Prada: Impossible Conversations" Costume Institute Gala in a curve-hugging embossed Tom Ford column design.

Credit: Karwai Tang/FilmMagic

Double Trouble

The only thing better than a slinky white dress? A midriff-baring slinky white skirt and crop top combo, as Rihanna proved in this Stella McCartney two-piece at the 2014 "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" event.

Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty

Crowning Glory

The dress that launched 1,000 memes, RiRi pulled off this over-the-top yellow Guo Pei cape and matching headpiece in honor of the 2015 “China Through The Looking Glass” theme as only she could.

Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Living Art

A true masterpiece, the Grammy winner’s Rei Kawakubo-designed frock rivaled the Met’s best works of art at the 2017 "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" fete.

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Regal Rihanna

The Barbados native turned heads with a pope-inspired hat as she walked the 2018 red carpet in honor of the event’s “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” theme. As one of the cohosts of fashion’s biggest night — alongside Amal Clooney, Anna Wintour and Donatella Versace — Rihanna dazzled in a long-sleeve minidress by Maison Margiela Artisanal and Cartier diamond jewelry.

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Contrasting Couple

Rihanna wore all black for the 2021 theme "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion." She arrived nearly five hours after the red carpet started, wearing a voluminous Balenciaga cape gown and a beanie with a diamond headpiece. Meanwhile, her boyfriend, ASAP Rocky, wore a multi-colored quilt before revealing his sleek ERL tuxedo.