Rihanna & Rocky: Countdown to the Met Gala

The biggest event that’s looming on the celebrity calendar is the Met Gala on Monday. Guarantee you the tweaks have been happening for weeks in preparation, and I’m not just talking about the garments although, of course, planning will have been underway in some cases for months and final fittings are in play right now. And then of course there’s Anna Wintour’s pre-Met Gala dinner, an annual tradition, that she hosts at her place the night before where all the co-chairs are typically in attendance in addition to a select few other guests. 

A$AP Rocky is one of the co-chairs this year so it’s likely that he’ll be in attendance for the dinner and obviously the gala the night next, although he and Rihanna haven’t yet made their way to NYC. They were photographed yesterday in LA heading into an office building with Rocky driving. Only Rocky was seen full body when they considered parking on the street but Rihanna stayed in the car as they ended up deciding to park underground instead. According to the paps they changed their mind because it was too far to walk to the door and, of course, the presence of photographers. Which in itself is an understandable deterrent but also, for weeks now, there’s been speculation that Rihanna is pregnant again so if anyone out there is working on the theory they could make the argument that she doesn’t she doesn’t want to be shot in any way that would confirm that, especially when the Met Gala is so close and she is – and has been for years – the party’s main character, the one we always wait for to see, once again, how she crushes it. 

Rihanna was expected at the Met Gala last year but ended up getting sick. With Rocky as co-chair and given how much she loves this event, and how much they both love to party, even though there’s been no official announcement that she’ll be in attendance, it’s just widely assumed that we’ll see her. 

The theme of the Met Gala this year spotlights the Black Dandy and it's titled “Tailored For You”. Men’s suiting will likely be on parade. Where Rihanna is concerned, it reminds me of her Met Gala look from 2009, when the theme was “Model as Muse”. She wore Dolce & Gabbana, a suit with dramatic shoulders, tailored to perfection. And while so many past Met Gala looks don’t hold up, this one does. In fact, it’s underrated. Look at her. 

And it’s not just the outfit, it’s also the makeup because makeup trends come and go too, but Rihanna’s face here works just as well in 2025 as it did in 2009. Which only adds to her cred with the Fenty makeup line that she would end up launching years later.