Rihanna's fashionably late appearance at the 2023 Met Gala was worth the wait as she stuns in three different looks

Everyone in the fashion world has been patiently waiting for Rihanna and A$AP Rocky to finally show up at the 2023 Met Gala - and the wait was certainly worth it as the singer rocked not one but three different looks for the event. 

The Met Gala kicked off at 6pm EST with celebrities and designers arriving in their droves all dressed to the nines in the 2023 Met Gala theme, 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty'. But by 9pm EST there was still no sign of Rihanna or her partner A$AP Rocky and Vogue's livestream of the event closed without a sighting of the pair. 

After the last of the guests had filed into the Met, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were finally spotted leaving the Carlyle hotel in New York City headed to the fashion affair wearing outfits seemingly entirely inspired by Karl Lagerfeld, the late creative director of Chanel and this year's gala subject.

Rihanna was seen heading to the fête wearing a fur Fendi coat that was part of the brand's 1997 ready-to-wear collection that Karl himself worked on. She teamed the coat with a pair of ivory white pumps with wrap-around laces and finished off the look with a gorgeous pearl choker (we know Karl loved those!) and stud diamond earrings. 

And yet, once on the red carpet, the pregnant superstar - who is already mom to an 11-month-old son - debuted an entirely different ensemble much to the delight of fans and all those who had been waiting for her arrival on the red carpet. 

The 2023 Super Bowl singer wore a white Valentino dress that looked like a giant bouquet of roses - an ensemble that stood out even more given the white sunglasses and red lip that Rihanna chose to complete the look. Talk about re-defining maternity chic. 

Rihanna's beau on the other hand did not change on his way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As seen in photos, A$AP Rocky wore a long plaid kilt over a pair of jeans and completed the look with a black suit jacket - a look reminiscent of one worn by Karl himself to close out a Chanel runway show back in 2004.

Once she had climbed up the iconic steps, Rihanna transformed into her third look of the evening. As A$AP stood by, she took off the floral hood that previously seemed to have defined the outfit to show off her beautiful, growing baby bump in a strappy dress complemented by a choker and pendants. 

This isn't the first time that the couple have quite literally shut down the red carpet at the Met Gala. Although the two did not attend the 2022 festivities - Rihanna was pregnant with their first child back then, so the Gala's organizers created a statue of the star replicating her then-latest Vogue cover in an effort to honor her absence - they were the last ones in attendance back in 2021.

While on the red carpet, Rihanna opened up about her second pregnancy when chatting with Entertainment Tonight. 

"It's so different from the first one," the singer said during the interview. "No cravings, tons of nausea. Everything is different but I'm enjoying it. I feel good. I feel energetic."

About her first son, she also said, "I'm in love, I'm obsessed and I don't even feel guilty about it." 

As for her music: don't hold your breath. While chatting with reporters on the red carpet, Rihanna made it clear that no new album is yet on the horizon - but we're sure it'll come soon enough. After all, the star has got her hands full!