Zendaya, Shakira, Pamela Anderson, Tyla and several other celebrities stunned at the Met Gala on Monday night with inventive garden-inspired interpretations of the theme "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," ascending the green carpet to celebrate the world of fashion and design.
But one A-lister notably absent from the Metropolitan Museum of Art steps was 10-time Met Gala attendee Rihanna.
The nine-time Grammy-winning singer, who previously said she planned to keep her look "real simple this year," skipped the annual fundraising gala that benefits the Costume Institute due to a bout with the flu, ABC News confirmed.
Rihanna, 36, has made some fashionably late appearances in years past, arriving to the party at 10 p.m. in 2023.
Rihanna's Met Gala dresses: All her past looks from fashion's biggest nightThe "We Found Love" singer, who served as co-chair in 2018 for "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination," has never disappointed with her dramatic fashion interpretations for the first Monday in May.
Last year, she dawned a structural white floral gown to pay homage to longtime Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld, who was known for his luxury bridal looks and was the focus of that year's Met Gala theme. Her partner A$AP Rocky walked the carpet with Rihanna sporting a black dress coat with a red tartan kilt and embellished jeans underneath.
While the pair were missed at this year's event, other stars served up plenty of incredible on-theme looks, surrounded by live foliage on the Met steps.
Actress Zendaya walked the carpet in two different looks, while Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B had 10 men to help wrangle her over-the-top black gown.
Check out even more from fashion's biggest night here.
