It was a moment instantly cemented in fashion history—and one of many that reaffirmed that Rihanna is a bonafide fashion icon. At the 2015 Met Gala, the bad gal ascended the red-carpeted steps of the Met in a couture fur-trimmed and embroidered canary-colored velvet cape—with an epic train—by Chinese designer Guo Pei.
It was a show-stopping entrance, after which I’m not sure anyone recalls what any of the other celebrities wore that night—but as Rihanna revealed this week to Access while promoting her upcoming Fenty Skin launch, the moment almost didn’t happen.
“I remember being so scared to get out of that car because I felt like, ‘I’m doing too much,’” she admitted while reviewing some of her most memorable fashion looks (including that now-legendary naked Swarovski-crystal dress she wore to the CFDAs). “I was driving past the red carpet and I was just seeing, like, gowns, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m a clown; people are gonna laugh at me,” she added. “This is too much.’”
“I circled like three times. I’m not even joking,” she added. “And finally, it was like, ‘Whatever, let’s just go.’”
And we were all the better for it (omelette memes included) In fact, the star disclosed that the garment—and its yards of heavily embroidered fabric—required strategic planning on the part of her team.
“The choreography of getting in the car and getting out—like, we had to choreograph it,” she recalled. “Who sits at the doors? Where does the coat go? Where do I sit?”
Thankfully, Rih figured it out, got over her fear, and gave us all a fashion moment we’ll never forget. And if that is what a clown looks like, “Well, then sign us up for the circus,” as HuffPost tagged its post on the disclosure.
But with all this talk about fashion and beauty, Rih’s Navy is still waiting impatiently for the near-mythical R9.
“They don’t leave me alone!” she laughs, before adding that her ninth studio album is “probably going to be sooner than my fans think.” (Sure, Rih—we’ve never heard that before.
But first, Rihanna’s dropping her unisex Fenty Skin, which has already garnered a slew of reviews ahead of its official July 31 drop (apparently, our samples got lost in the mail—damn it, Trump!) and has reportedly already made it to the resale market at ridiculous markups (like, hundreds of dollars more). So, we’ll be reserving our reviews until later...you know, like R9