Stars shine at Met Gala, showcasing Black dandyism

The brightest stars in Hollywood, music, sports and fashion hit the red carpet Monday for the Met Gala, the extravagant Manhattan fundraiser that this year spotlights the subversive style of Black dandyism.

The blockbuster night's theme explores the sharply tailored dandy aesthetic and its rich, complicated history. It also celebrates the opening of a corresponding exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

But for the fashionistas, the Met Gala -- always the first Monday in May -- is simply one of the world's top red carpets with blinding star power.

Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, two of the co-chairs of fashion's marquee event, were among the early arrivals alongside gala supremo Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue.

Domingo paid tribute to the late Andre Leon Talley, Vogue's first Black creative director and one of fashion's towering figures, in a royal blue Valentino cape with a glittering white collar over a snazzy black and gold jacket and gray tweed trousers.

Hamilton meanwhile wowed in a sharp cream suit and matching backwards cap, diamonds glittering in his ears, as well as on his lapel, cuffs and hands.

And musician and designer Pharrell Williams, another co-chair, looked snappy in a short, pearl-encrusted white jacket and flared black tuxedo trousers.

Tailored suits, bejeweled brooches, canes and jaunty hats were de rigueur for the men.

Among the women in attendance, actor Teyana Taylor definitely understood the assignment, arriving in a black suit with red pinstripes and matching huge red coat, the back fully pleated and "Harlem Rose" embossed in the fabric.

Rapper Doechii wore a logo-heavy Louis Vuitton cream shorts suit with burgundy accents, a cigar dangling between her lips.

And actor Zendaya, always a huge hit at the gala, stunned in a slim white suit and dramatic brimmed hat -- perhaps some bridal chic now that she is engaged to Tom Holland?

Last to arrive at the party was Rihanna, cradling her new baby bump in an all-black ensemble after revealing she was pregnant as the event began.

Her partner A$AP Rocky, a gala co-chair, confirmed the pregnancy on the carpet: "I'm glad everybody's happy for us because we're definitely happy."

Former US vice president Kamala Harris skipped the red carpet, but attended the gala in an understated black and cream gown from Off-White.(AFP)