Rihanna Shuts Down the Met Gala Red Carpet in Comme des Garçons

When Rihanna hit the 2017 Met Gala red carpet, it was a full-on fashion fantasy. Arriving to celebrate the Costume Institute exhibition “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between,” the singer wore a Comme des Garçons look, straight off the Fall 2016 runway, that was an architectural wonder.

Anticipation was high for Rihanna’s look, particularly given the night’s avant-garde dress code, and she did not disappoint. Originally modeled by Anna Cleveland in Paris, the sculptural piece was inspired by 18th-century “punks” and consisted of floral fabrics, layered and pulled apart like petals.

Rihanna has a long history of shutting down the Met Gala red carpet. In 2015, she turned up in a stunning canary yellow cape and gilded headdress to celebrate “China: Through the Looking Glass.” Trimmed with fur and painstakingly embroidered by hand, the couture piece by Chinese designer Guo Pei took two years to create and was a pitch-perfect tribute to the night’s theme. Last year, her presence was sorely missed. Safe to say she more than made up for it last night.