Cardi B confirmed that the music charts aren’t the only place she’s establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with when she showed up to the 2019 Met Gala red carpet on Monday in a stunning Thom Browne gown. The Bronx rapper, who famously rapped about her “red bottoms and bloody shoes” took to the red carpet in a new bloody look, a custom, hand-embroidered Thom Browne gown with a sweeping train and a matching Stephen Jones headpiece. The look, which was decorated with 30,000 burned and dyed coque feathers and took 35 people more than 2,000 hours to create, was a strong interpretation of the night’s piquant theme, “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” which was inspired by Susan Sontag’s iconic 1964 essay, Notes on “Camp.” This isn’t the first time that Cardi has stopped red carpet traffic at the Met Gala; last year, Cardi walked the red carpet in a resplendent Catholic Madonna-inspired look that was a wink-and-a-nod to her pregnancy at the time and the night’s theme, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. See the full Cardi B Met Gala 2018 look below. And here’s what Cardi B wore to the 2018 Met Gala. Cardi B attends the 2018 Met Gala. Getty Images; BFA/Shutterstock Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Write to Cady Lang at cady.lang@timemagazine.com.<doc-sep>For Cardi B, the Met Gala was all about the fashion — not feuds. Seeing Nicki Minaj was the last thing on Cardi’s mind, we’ve learned exclusively. If there was any drama at the 2019 Met Gala, it didn’t come courtesy of Cardi B. The “I Like It” rapper, 26, was in danger of running into her nemesis, Nicki Minaj, at the May 6 event, and we all know that could’ve meant major mayhem. Even though when they get together, shoes get thrown, Cardi actually wasn’t worried about seeing Nicki on the red carpet. She was there to serve lewks, and nothing else, according to a source! “Cardi was not worried at all about the possibility of running into Nicki and she wasn’t focused on their past drama one bit,” the source told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “Cardi‘s main concern was having fun with the theme, working her look, and seeing the fans.” The last time Cardi and Nicki were at a fancy event together, it didn’t go well. The rappers got into a physical altercation at the Harper’s Bazaar ICONS party during New York Fashion Week in September 2018, that ended with Cardi throwing a shoe at Nicki, and Cardi getting bopped on the head. Video from the incident shows Cardi yelling at Nicki and tossing one of her heels before security stepped in. Sometime during the near-brawl, Cardi ripped the skirt of her gown all the way up to her butt, exposing her thong. LHHNY star Rah Ali reportedly punched Cardi in the head, and the rapper was seen leaving the Plaza Hotel with a huge bump on her forehead. Related: Cardi B Reveals Her $500K Ruby Nipples & Why She Wanted To Show Off Her ‘Vajayjay’ At Met Gala The whole incident went down because Nicki allegedly criticized Cardi’s mothering skills, just two months after she gave birth to her daughter with husband Offset, Kulture Cephus. That’s all in the past now for Cardi, though. “Cardi is in such a different place right now in her life and beefing with Nicki was the last thing on her mind,” the source explained. “She has really matured this past year, and having Kulture and the success she’s achieved really puts her in a different head space. She knew she slayed with her look at the Met Gala and wanted to make this night all about positivity and moving forward, not backwards. HollywoodLife reached out to Cardi’s rep for comment on this story but did not hear back as of press time.<doc-sep>Cardi B hit the Met Ball in a gorgeous red feather gown with an epic train that stole the show on May 6. But it didn’t take long for the Nicki Minaj fandom to accuse her of stealing the look from their queen. Cardi B and Nicki Minaj have a history of fighting at fashion events. Who can forget when Cardi left a NYFW event last year with a giant bump on her head, after getting into an altercation with Nicki. But this time their feud may have taken on a much more sartorial slant. At least according to Nicki’s fans, who took to Twitter to accuse Cardi B of copying her style. Last year Nicki wore an exquisite Oscar de la Renta gown featured a plunging neckline, dramatic red headpiece and a super long train. Flash forward to 2019 and Cardi chose an equally dramatic red gown with — you guessed it — a super long train. And just like Nicki she also wore a headpiece, only hers was a bejeweled swim cap. Fans were quick to all out Cardi for the similarities with one fan tweeting a side by side pic and writing, “Cardi’s inspiration for today was Nicki”. Another fan replied, “Nicki is an obsession”. But, not everyone on Twitter agreed. Plenty of fans jumped to Cardi’s defense with many calling the accusation a “reach”. And one fan even tweeted, “except Cardi kinda did it better.” Still more fans pointed out that it was actually Rihanna who really started the super size dress trend with her unforgettable — and enormous — yellow Dior gown at the 2015 Met Gala. We have a feeling Cardi will not take kindly to fans saying she stole Nicki’s look, especially since this is not the first time she’s been accused of it. Back in Dec. 2017 fans were convinced Cardi’s look in the music video for the remix of G-Eazy‘s “No Limit” was too close to Nicki’s style. And then Nicki herself chimed in on the conversation and wrote: “I’m glad ya’ll peeped.” But the odds of Nicki speaking out this time are low because as HollywoodLife previously reported she has moved on from her feud with Cardi and has put their beef “aside”. Hopefully their truce will last though the night since they’re both attending the Met Gala this year and no one wants a fight at the museum! HollywoodLife previously reported about Cardi’s excitement over this year’s Met and the super-extra theme Camp: Notes on Fashion. Cardi kept all the details about her glam gown top secret but a source close to the “Money” rapper reveled that she would be going all out for fashion’s biggest night. “Cardi knows how to make an entrance, and the Met Gala of all things will be a big fashion moment for her.” And it sure was!<doc-sep>
Last year was Cardi B’s first Met Gala, and naturally she made it count. Cardi arrived at the divinely themed Gala in a gem-encrusted Moschino gown fit for a queen, showing off her baby bump in the process. After spending months concealing her pregnancy with belly-obscuring peplums and A-line skirts, Cardi opted for a look that accentuated her maternity curves—plunging neckline, bump-hugging waist, and a daring leg reveal. This year, though, the singer went for something much more reserved. She showed up to the Met Gala red carpet completely covered up, head to toe, in an anatomically accurate, oxblood custom Thom Browne gown that extends outward in concentric circles for about ten feet. Made from tulle and silk organza and filled with down, the hand-embroidered dress is also decorated with 30,000 burned and dyed coque feathers. It took 35 people more than 2,000 hours to create, and it’s finished off with a bugle-bead headpiece that Browne made in collaboration with Stephen Jones. Browne says he was inspired first and foremost by the female form. “I designed this dress for Cardi specifically because she has the ultimate beauty in a woman’s body, and that is what the dress is about for me: taking advantage of that beauty,” the designer says. In spite of its full coverage, the dress really does emphasize certain areas—there are yonic embellishments, a heart-shaped cutout on the backside, and 44-carat ruby nipples, custom-designed by Stefere Jewerly, which cost a whopping $250,000. Only Cardi could manage to show no skin yet still draw attention to every single body part. See All of the Celebrity Looks From the Met Gala 2019 Red Carpet: 1 / 100 Chevron Chevron Photo: Getty Images Lady Gaga in Brandon Maxwell Met Gala 2019: See Every Celebrity Arrival, Read the Latest Stories, and Get Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Here