Met Gala: Rihanna, Jared Leto as Choupette, Kim K. in pearls

Rihanna shut down the Met Gala carpet Monday encased in white camellias on a jacket with a long train gown. Janelle Monáe dropped a bulky coat to reveal a see-through cage and Jeremy Pope walked in a 32-foot cape emblazoned with the visage of Karl Lagerfeld.

In the spirit of Lagerfeld himself (he was not often on time), Rihanna and her Valentino couture had the carpet to themselves save her partner, A$AP Rocky, who wore a red tartan skirt over crystal-studded jeans with a train of his own. They showed up well past everyone else.

Around her neck was a short Bulgari necklace in Akoya cultured pearls and pearl-shaped diamonds.

Lagerfeld was the honoree at the A-list gala with many in the crowd of about 400 dressed in vintage looks from the fashion houses where he worked during a career of more than 60 years.

But elegant wasn’t entirely the hallmark of