Last night, MAC Cosmetics threw an exclusive dinner to fete its upcoming collaboration with Chinese haute couture designer Guo Pei — and to celebrate Rihanna’s showstopping Met Gala turn in her design, also known as the dress that sparked a thousand memes and pizza orders. Of the dress, Guo Pei explained, “Rihanna and her team really wanted to follow this year’s Met Gala theme, so they were looking for a Chinese designer. She first saw it online and then contacted me.” The dress came from a royalty-inspired collection three years ago called A Thousand and Two Nights, and took two years to make (and originally included a matching corset and shoes, which Rihanna did not wear).
Guo Pei originally worried that the dress would be too heavy for Rihanna to wear (it weighs a rumored 55 pounds), but, as she put it, “She wore it really well, proving that she is Rihanna and the dress was meant for her.” Of the growing pizza and omelette memes the dress has inspired, Pei laughed and said, “I think it’s really cute! I’m very happy. This dress is very important — if people find this dress interesting and funny, I think it’s great. Rihanna is wearing this dress for entertainment — not for a fashion show.”
Click through the slideshow to see the guests at last night’s party, including Liu Wen, Adam Selman, and Pat Cleveland.
Guo Pei, Liu Wen
James Gager, Guo Pei, Jack Tsao
Guo Pei, Mel Ottenberg
Adam Selman, Guo Pei
James Gager, Jessica Joffe
Guo Pei, John Dempsey, Alina Cho
Pat Cleveland
