On the first Monday in May, the Met Gala red carpet is one of the most watched fashion events of the year, hands down.

Each year the theme pushes the limits and gets more and more daring.

This year, guests celebrated the opening of the Costume Institute’s exhibition, “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between.”

Many anticipated big, bold and bright fashion with this year’s theme being avant-garde.

I’m aware we’re in Mississippi. So if you don’t know what “avant-garde” means, here goes. Avant-garde is defined as “new or experimental.” So, with a dress code like this, it could be good, bad, or absurd.

Jaden Smith carried his own dreadlocks in his hand as an accessory (really), Kim Kardashian wore a dress comparable to Fashion Nova and LaLa Anthony wore a ring on every finger except one to shade her rumored-to-be cheating husband.

But to no surprise, very few guests actually wore Comme des Garcons except for Caroline Kennedy, Tracee Ellis Ross and Pharrell Williams and wife, Helen Lasichanh.

Of course, they were all beat by the queen of the night Rihanna, who did Rei proud by gracing the carpet in a Fall 2016 dress from the designer’s Comme des Garcons runway.

The pouf-ball of a dress was an assemblage of petals of fabric, both precious and mundane, which made Rihanna look like a walking fashion retrospective herself.

Many on social media agree that the dress was a joy to look at, worn with fire engine red gladiator sandals that wrapped up her legs lending some sex appeal to the curve-defying look.

“Once again, Robyn is the only one who accurately followed the theme but what else is new #metgala,”Beauty guru @victoriouslogan tweeted.

“I don’t know what [Rihanna] is wearing… but she invented it and slayed,” @urbandoll said.

“Rihanna will go down a as a fashion mogul,” @VICKYCecrets said.

Rihana was not the only one sporting red. The shade seemed to be a popular pick on Monday night.

Kawakubo describes the color as strong. “Red is black,” she said.

Another designer who was well represented was Oscar de la Rente worn by Zoe Kravitz.

The “Big Little Lies” actress was seen in a pale pink and black caped gown. Kravitz was the epitome of class and modernization with her new hair cut.

Kravitz’s hair wasn’t the only one making a statement – model Cara Delevigne made an appearance with silver hair of her own.

She created a stir wearing a belted spring 2017 Chanel couture pants look.

Rita Ora’s hair reportedly took three days to create.

Several guests were inspired by Kawakubo’s avant-garde spirit in their beauty looks, including Kerry Washington’s black blunt bob with bangs and Sasha Lane’s hot pink eyeshadow.

While some guests nailed it, some struggled with the theme.

Reality star Kim Kardashian-West wore a white gown by Vivienne Westwood with simple strappy sandals that failed to impress anyone.

“Kanye should have helped you luvie @KimKardashian,” one Twitter user tweeted.

Her younger sister, Kylie Jenner’s ensemble wasn’t far behind Kim’s.

One keyboard warrior described Jenner’s look as, “predictable, boring, always the same, been done before, repetitive.”

So, it’s safe to say critics can agree Monday night wasn’t a good one for reality show royalty.

However, it was indeed a big night for A-list couples.

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend coordinated in white and black ensembles.

Teigen wore a black chiffon gown with an intricately embroidered bodice and feather details at the shoulder and cuff. Legend kept it simple, matching his beautiful wife in a white dinner jacket and black pants.

Blake Lively was present with husband Ryan Reynolds.

Lively wore a gold Atelier Versace gown with vibrant blue feathers at the hem and Reynolds chose a blue bow tie to match his wife’s stunning dress.

New couple Selena Gomez and The Weeknd stepped out together but The Weeknd’s ex Bella Hadid stole the show. The model definitely came to play in a striking Alexander Wang catsuit.

There were some underdogs who didn’t seem to get much of a reaction that slayed the carpet.

Priyanka Chopra wore one of the most memorable looks of the night – the star looked like she’d just stepped out of a photo shoot in a dramatic Ralph Lauren Collection trench dress.

Last, but not least, Ashley Graham showed off her killer curves in a dramatic crimson H&M gown.