The 30-year-old singer will co-chair her first Met Gala on Friday, more than 10 years after she first rocked the carpet.
All hail, Queen RiRi!
While Beyonce and her husband, JAY-Z, have been praised as the queen and king of the Met Gala, we think there's a case to be made for the rapper's protege, Rihanna. The GRAMMY winner attended her first Met Gala after releasing her hit single, "Umbrella," in 2007, and over the years, she has slowly but surely secured her spot as a fashion icon, both on and off the red carpet-draped steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Rihanna will co-chair her first Met Gala alongside Amal Clooney and Donatella Versace at the event on Monday, and we can't wait to see what regal look she puts together in honor of this year's theme: "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination." Take a look back at her fiercest Met Gala looks below.
2017
Ten years after her first Met Gala, Rihanna proved no look was too bold to rock. While some shied away from the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between" theme, RiRi was all in, sporting an eye-catching, avant-garde look off the Comme des Garçons Fall 2016 RTW runway. The singer paired her structured, floral ensemble with strappy heels that laced all the way up to her thighs, and carried the look into her makeup with pink eyeshadow and blush framing her face.
"It’s actually really easy, it’s booty shorts and you buckle some snaps," she told Vogue's Andre Leon Talley, before confessing: “The shoes took me an hour to get into."
2015
Two years earlier was when Rihanna really cemented herself as a Met Gala star, channeling the event's theme of "China: Through the Looking Glass" in a breathtaking, embroidered canary-yellow gown by Chinese couturier Guo Pei. The show-stopping look, which included a fur-trim cape and gold headpiece, took Guo Pei nearly two years to make, and weighed an incredible 55 pounds -- but Rihanna couldn't have looked more fabulous.
2014
Years before Kendall Jenner's nearly naked dress and Madonna's thong-bearing ensemble, Rihanna brought some skin to the Met Gala's 2014 "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" carpet in an ab-baring, two-piece ensemble by Stella McCartney. Seemingly simple (at least compared to some of her other looks) from the front, the dress was almost completely backless, and held together with nothing but a small clasp behind her neck. The "Stay" singer rocked an undo updo and understated makeup -- letting her diamonds (including Jacob & Co. four-carat diamond studs and a 18k white-gold diamond choker and five rings) steal the show.
2012
For 2012's "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations" theme, Rihanna slithered onto the carpet in a sexy, sultry Tom Ford crocodile-embossed leather dress. The floor-length design, which showed off all her curves and included a deep V back, was paired with black patent Christian Louboutin pumps and an edgy black manicure. The hitmaker sported a similarly edgy hairstyle, showing off an undercut beneath three buns on the top of her head.
2011
RiRi was hard to miss at the 2011 Met Gala, arriving looking like a gorgeous gothic mermaid to fit the year's theme of "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty." Donning a black, beaded lace gown by Stella McCartney, Rihanna shimmered on the carpet and proved her sexy style was here to stay. The Barbadian beauty wore her long, red locks in a side braid, accentuating the gown's one shoulder. A deep red lip and a sparkling black clutch completed her seductive look.
Ahead of Monday's Met Gala, Rihanna graced the cover of Vogue's June issue. Find out everything we learned -- from her relationship with Drake to her new romance -- in the video below.
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