Met Gala 2016 Red Carpet Recap: Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Claire Danes [PHOTOS]

The stars came out in metallic, latex, florals and feathers for the 2016 Met Gala in New York on Monday night. Celebrities hit the red carpet in stunning designs adhering to this year’s theme, “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.” Here’s a recap of the best dressed and who was a no-show at the annual fundraising event, which is hosted by the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Taylor Swift, the honorary chairwoman of this year’s Met Gala, transformed from the girl next door into a futuristic Goth. The singer-songwriter stuck to the event’s theme with a silver, scaly, side-bearing Louis Vuitton mini dress. She completed the look with Eva Fehren jewelry, bleached blonde hair and dark lips.

Model Karolina Kurkova’s dress was arguably the epitome of this year’s theme. She walked the red carpet in a magnificent gown designed by fashion house Marchesa’s Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig that was covered with fabric flowers. The flowers were embedded with IBM Watson technology that lit up LEDs inside as people reacted to the Met Gala on social media in real time.

Actress Claire Danes looked like Cinderella in a pale blue gown designed by Zac Posen that lit up in the dark. The designer apparently worked with Google’s Made with Code initiative to create the showstopping dress.

Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian, bedazzled in matching silver Balmain garments that looked like armor. The rapper also sported a pair of ice blue contact lenses and ripped Fear of God jeans. The two were crowned Vogue’s Best-Dressed Couple on the Met Gala red carpet.

Kardashian’s half-sister Kylie Jenner also stunned in a gorgeous silver Balmain dress with strappy heels and a chic bob. It was the social media queen’s first time attending the Met Gala. Jenner later revealed on Snapchat that the metallic gown had scratched her legs and her feet were bruised from her shoes. “It was worth it though,” the 18-year-old captioned a selfie on Snapchat.

Other guests took this year’s theme in a different direction. Actress Zoe Saldana arrived in a jaw-dropping strapless Dolce & Gabbana gown featuring a multicolored feather-embellished train that evoked a flock of peacocks.

Some stars were noticeably absent from Monday night’s fashion extravaganza. Rihanna surprisingly skipped out on the Met Gala. The singer stole the show last year with her Guo Pei-designed yellow robe that took two years to make. Vogue contributing editor and guest skimmer André Leon Talley said Rihanna couldn’t attend this year’s event because she’s too busy with her “Anti” tour.

“Unfortunately the person I most wanted to see is not coming because she’s on tour. It’s Rihanna … but I do look forward to Beyoncé,” Talley told TheSkimm on Monday.

Beyoncé rocked her Givenchy dress on the red carpet Monday night. The gown was crafted from nude, curve-hugging latex that fit the year’s theme. But the superstar, who stoked rumors about the state of her marriage with her latest album, “Lemonade,” arrived solo without her husband of eight years, Jay Z.

It was Beyoncé’s first red carpet appearance since “Lemonade” dropped April 23. It's a visual album with explosive lyrics and powerful imagery that focuses on themes like infidelity, fury and forgiveness. It’s unclear whether the project is an extended metaphor or if Beyoncé is drawing from her own deeply personal experiences. But at one point during the hourlong video, while reciting poetry, she pointedly asks: “Are you cheating on me?”