Rihanna Served Champagne to Guests Attending Her Rihanna Book Launch at the Guggenheim

On Friday night, Rihanna hosted a party at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City’s Upper East Side to celebrate her just-launched autobiography with Phaidon. The book, which is more of a photo-driven coffee table book than a memoir, features more than 1,000 never-before-seen images and documents her rise from her upbringing in Barbados to various performances and appearances over the years, including her many winning Met gala red carpet looks. And for the ultimate collector: there are the Haas brothers (who were in attendance) special-edition book stands created for RiRi specifically.

Given this is a BadGal RiRi party, the weekend bash pulled out all the stops. An open bar kept the Armand de Brignac Champagne flowing as a DJ spun tracks; the museum’s new exhibition, Artistic License, gave something for guests to take in as they awaited Rihanna’s arrival. With a few paparazzi flashbulbs going off at the door, guests knew the star of the night had arrived: Rihanna floated in wearing a leopard-print gown by Saint Laurent. Fans immediately began swarming the star. A few selfies and hugs in, she then made her way to the open bar, where she grabbed a glass of Champagne and proceeded to hand out drinks to the lucky bystanders in her proximity.

Later on in the evening, Rihanna grabbed the mic—not to sing (unfortunately), but to take a few moments to thank the crowd and her publisher for celebrating the new book. “I want to thank the Guggenheim not only for having us here, but to share this piece of art and have it be among the art that has been at the Guggenheim since 1959,” she said, adding, “I just gave Phaidon a USB filled with pictures and said, ‘Here you go!’ And they said, ‘We’ll make art.’” As the evening came to a close, guests were handed a free copy of the book on their way out of the soirée—many happily hailing a cab to lug their hefty 15-pound books home. Only for Rihanna.