Rihanna Revises Old Hollywood Glam in Two Surprise New York Fashion Week Appearances

The Queen of Couture, Rihanna herself, made not one but two surprise appearances on the first day of this year's New York Fashion Week and, of course, she did not disappoint.

On Friday, Sept. 6, the singer and fashion icon arrived at the Alaïa fashion show at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum wearing a custom Alaïa crystal mesh dress. As one Vogue writer in attendance observed, the "sheer fishnet dress fell off her shoulders, the embedded crystals like glittering drops of water."

Underneath her water-like crystal gown, the mother of two wore a cream satin thong corset featuring pearls, paired with matching pearl-decorated heels.

The show-stopping look was actually one of two worn by Rihanna that evening—ahead of her surprise Alaïa show appearance, the singer attended The Daily Front Row's 11th Annual Fashion Media Awards at The Rainbow Room in 30 Rockefeller Plaza, wearing another Alaïa masterpiece.

Rihanna walked in wearing a pink, cotton-candy colored ankle-length ruffled coat, over a what appeared to be the same cream satin corset dress.

According to Vogue, the singer sat next to Liv Tyler during the event, who was understandably visibly surprised.

The Alaïa fashion show marked the first show hosted by the Guggenheim Museum in its 85-year-history, according to Women's Wear Daily, and certainly rose to the occasion. Designer Pieter Mulier "offered his take on American sportswear twisted in the Alaïa way," the publication reports, and with the use of "zero zippers or buttons."

“We looked a lot at the history of American fashion and what it used to be,” Mulier told the publication prior to the show. “I collect a lot of American designers, so we looked a lot at the American way of dressing. Everything is stretch or hangs on the body.”

The show featured various, carefully sculpted gowns, miniskirts, bra tops, crop tops and dresses, worn by not just models but high-powered influencers like Kendall Jenner and Kai Gerber.

“It was very interesting for us because we are normally a brand that’s very zipped up, very buttoned up and all about the waists," Mulier continued. "It was not an easy thing but the body was still respected in the way we designed the collection."

Rihanna has become a fashion icon and staple at events like New York Fashion Week and the Met Gala. In 2014, after receiving the CFDA Fashion Icon Award, the star opened up about how fashion has influenced her life.

"Growing up I didn’t have a lot of access to fashion. But as far as I could remember, fashion has always been my defense mechanism. Even as a child I remember thinking, 'She can beat me, but she cannot beat my outfit,'" she said at the time. "And to this day I mean, that is how I think about it. I can compensate for all my weaknesses with my fashion."