No one delivers on a Met Gala theme quite like Rihanna, which is probably why Anna Wintour has given the “Diamonds” singer carte blanche to arrive on the Met steps whenever she sees fit. Often that means walking the carpet well after the other fashionable celebs. And it’s a good thing she does: The best things in life are always worth the wait.
The first time Rihanna closed down the carpet was back in 2015, when she arrived in a custom yellow gown that took Chinese couturier Guo Pei two years to perfect for “China Through the Looking Glass.” This moment set the precedent that Rihanna may make you wait for the best look of the night, but you’ll certainly be glad you did.
And the few times Rihanna has missed the Met Gala—like when she came down with the flu in 2024—that just raises the stakes for next year’s event. In 2025, for example, Rihanna made up for her previous absence by hard-launching her third pregnancy in an impeccably tailored avant-garde suit befitting the Met Gala theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
“I can barely wink, but I’ll do it for you,” she reportedly told the photographers, who’d been on standby until her arrival. Of course, we’ll wait however long it takes to see her next look for the 2026 Met Gala. Until then, here are all her looks since her debut in 2007.
2007: “Poiret: King Of Fashion”
In Georges Chakra.
2009: “The Model As Muse”
In Dolce & Gabbana.
2011: “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty”
In Stella McCartney.
2012: “Schiaparelli And Prada: Impossible Conversations”
In Tom Ford.
2014: “Charles James: Beyond Fashion”
In Stella McCartney.
2015: “China: Through The Looking Glass”
In Guo Pei.
2017: “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Arka Of The In-Between”
In Comme des Garçon.
2018: “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination”
In John Galliano.
2021: “In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion”
In Balenciaga with a çizgi from Stephen Jones Millinery.
2023: “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”
In Valentino.
2025: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”
In Marc Jacobs.
