Three of Rihanna’s standout Met Ball looks Chance Yeh/Patrick McMullan/Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images/Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Fans of fashion and celebrity gossip both have good reason to get excited this Monday as the red carpet is rolled out for the annual Met Gala.
The star-studded event is a veritable playground for the rich and famous when it comes to fashion, but few ever have as much fun – or get people talking – as Rihanna.
Over the past decade, the singer and beauty entrepreneur has made herself the true queen of the Met Ball thanks to her breathtaking fashion choices — and all indications are that we’ll get another RiRi moment on the red carpet this year.
So while we wait for all the red carpet photos from the 2024 Met Ball (including Rihanna’s own!), here’s our definitive ranking of the looks the musician has worn to the Met Gala over the years…
10. 2007 – Poiret: king of fashion
Fresh off the success of her then-recent single Umbrella, Rihanna attended her very first Met Gala in 2007 (still sporting the Good Girl Gone Bad hairstyle, no less).
We have to be honest: this outfit isn’t exactly one for the history books, especially when compared to how groundbreaking Rihanna’s fashion choices would become in the years that followed.
Still, even though we weren’t blown away by the white dress, we still have to give a shout-out to those gloves, which do add something to the outfit.
9. 2011 – Alexander McQueen: Savage BeAuty
Again, this isn’t our favorite Rihanna look by any means, but we’re really loving this red fish braid moment.
What keeps this outfit from being at the bottom of the list is that the dress is a lot more innovative than it seems at first glance, although you have to see it…
…from all angles to get the full effect.
8. 2012 – Schiaparelli and Prada: impossible conversations
She certainly stepped things up the next year, didn’t she?
In sleek black snakeskin, this look is definitely more reminiscent of ‘Rihanna, the Fashion Icon’ that would appear in the not-too-distant future after this was created.
But while this outfit is a little too simple to rank higher than eighth on our final rankings, we still have to give her props for the cool material (and of course, her fabulous hairdo).
7. 2014 – Charles James: Beyond Fashion
Another very beautiful outfit from Rihanna. What we love most about her 2014 ensemble is how youthful, fresh and pleasure It is, especially at an event where we secretly suspect there will be little laughter.
Of course, having fun with fashion would eventually become RiRi’s forte, as we’ll discover later in this list…
6. 2022: In America: a lexicon of fashion
This outfit may not be to everyone’s taste, but if anyone on earth can pull off this massive Balenciaga coat with a matching bejeweled hat, it’s Rihanna — and we’re big fans of the makeup and jewelry.
In 2021, Rih walked the red carpet with A$AP Rocky, marking their very first public appearance as a couple, and within a few months, the We Found Love singer would confirm that she was expecting their first child.
5. 2023 – Karl Lagerfeld: a line of beauty
A pregnant Rih certainly made an impression when she and A$AP Rocky arrived late to the 2023 Met Ball, with most guests already seated at their tables by the time the Grammy winner walked the red carpet.
But what an outfit this was. Between the huge floral coat (which took on a completely different look when she took off the hood) and those white gloves, there was a lot to love, but we all know the real star of the show…
…were those incredible sunglasses.
4. 2009 – The model as muse: embodying fashion
In 2009, Rihanna was still in the early days of experimenting with a more avant-garde and daring style than we were used to from her at the time.
Combining masculine and feminine, with her slacks, bow tie and sky-high heels, Rihanna delivered one of the standout looks of the evening that year, and she would continue to serve up similar fashion moments while promoting her fourth album Rated R. which was released later that year.
It’s also worth noting that this was the then 21-year-old’s first red carpet appearance after being physically attacked by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown a few months earlier, leaving this already powerful (and, in our opinion, underrated) look became even stronger. more impactful.
3. 2018 – Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
Rihanna was one of the co-chairs of the 2018 Met Gala, so the stakes were especially high when it came to the red carpet.
Luckily, she more than delivered, giving us the standout moment of the entire night.
The funny thing about this outfit is that while some critics on social media suggested it was blasphemous or in bad taste, the Vatican actually endorsed the theme that year, and Rihanna herself borrowed part of her outfit from an actual Catholic cardinal.
2. 2015 – China: Through the Looking Glass
The dress that spawned a thousand memes, whether you thought it looked like a pizza, an omelet, or a tribute to Big Bird, Rihanna’s 2015 look was one that got absolutely everyone talking.
Rihanna later revealed that Shex came across the dress while Googling Chinese couture online, telling Vanity Fair: “I’m so in love with this dress, but the train is crazy!
‘I can’t actually walk in it without help, but it’s so worth it. I love this dress so much! It is Chinese couture and made by Guo Pei. It was handmade by a Chinese woman and it took her two years to make it. I found it online.”
It was a big year for Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala, where she not only won the red carpet, but also performed at the event (in a much more stage-friendly ensemble, obv).
1. 2017 – Rei Kawakubo/Comme Des Garçons: art of the in-between
There are always a breakout or two on the Met Gala red carpet, with celebrities preferring to wear something pretty or flattering rather than actually sticking to the theme of the event — but 2016 was the next level.
Since the evening was inspired by Comme Des Garçons, the fashion house known for their elaborate and bizarre silhouettes, many of the stars in attendance opted for something simpler than the requested invitation.
But not Rihanna.
She walked the red carpet in this enormous creation, which turned all eyes on her and gave us a look so iconic that it’s literally the one used to illustrate the Met Gala on Wikipedia.
Not only is it stunning and inventive (and actually ties in with that year’s theme, when so many chose not to even try), it’s also a lot of fun and completely illustrates everything we love about Rihanna’s fashion.
