Rihanna STUNS in Adam Selman

'It was just fishnet, crystals and fingers crossed': The designer of Rihanna's scandalous CFDA gown reveals the painstaking process behind the look.

Rihanna pushed the fashion envelope so hard on Monday night, she tore it open. The singer attended the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City wearing a wearing a see-through dress that showed off her breasts and rear.

The Barbadian beauty, 26, paired her beaded mesh-like gown with elbow-length gloves and a matching headpiece. She wore a skin-toned thong underneath the dress. She wore a matching sparkly turban, which left the emphasis on her beautiful face. Smokey eyes and minimal make-up completed her eye-catching look. Rihanna, undisputed fashion star of the moment, was no doubt the big draw at the CFDA awards, which also honours the year's top designers.

The pop star received the 2014 Fashion Icon award and told the audience, "As long as I can remember, fashion has been my defense mechanism. As a child I remember thinking, she can beat me but she cannot beat my outfit... You will never be stylish if you don't take risks." If you've got it, flaunt it! 

The designer responsible for THAT scandalous gown worn by Rihanna at the CFDA awards last night has revealed just how the look came to be.

Adam Selman - whose boyfriend is Rihanna's stylist Mel Ottenberg - was the brains behind the translucent mesh ensemble, which was adorned with more than 230,000 Swarovski crystals and worn with matching gloves, a head scarf, a pink fur stole and just a nude thong underneath.

'We definitely wanted to make it a little bit scandalous,' Mr Selman told Style.com, while Mr Ottenberg revealed that 'at least eight people' worked through the night to put on the finishing touches.

Fashion icon: Adam Selman, the designer responsible for THAT scandalous gown worn by Rihanna at the CFDA awards last night, has revealed just how the look came to be 

Arduous: Mr Selman's boyfriend is the star's stylist Mel Ottenberg, who revealed that 'at least eight people' worked through the night to put on the finishing touches

 

Indeed, this morning the designer posted a short Instagram video of his team painstakingly applying crystals onto the fabric of the dress one at a time, revealing just how much work went into it.

Mr Selman is an established fashion favorite of Rihanna's, having designed her tour costumes since 2011 as well as co-designing her collection for River Island.

But he says this particular look, a backless halter gown that left next to nothing to the imagination, was the biggest risk he's taken so far.

'I don't know if it's shocking - I'm with her all the time, so my shock gauge is off'

'The dress is just fishnet and crystals and a couple of fingers crossed,' he said on the evening that Rihanna debuted the look at the event, where she collected the Fashion Icon Award.

'But fashion is about beauty, and the [female] body is part of that.'

Mr Selman said that the creative process for the dress began last month, when he and Mr Ottenberg were dressing the 26-year-old singer for the MTV Movie Awards.

'We started talking about it, and I sketched it shortly after,' he said, revealing that it was largely a collaborative effort, and that the star came up with the idea for the matching headscarf on her own.

And only Rihanna could pull off a look so daring, says Mr Ottenberg, declaring: 'It's SO naked,' on the drive to the CFDA awards.

'I don't know if it's shocking - I'm with her all the time, so my shock gauge is off,' admitted the stylist.

'But I told her that I thought she was ready for this dress a while ago, and that I wasn't. I'm the prude, and I'm just catching up.' The sparkling custom gown - which has been likened to an Old Hollywood style Josephine Baker would have worn, as well as a nod to the dress Marilyn Monroe donned to sing to JFK - certainly created quite the buzz among fans and fashionistas, making headlines for its barely-there shock effect.

And the singer attracted even more attention when she celebrated her win by twerking in the see-through gown after the ceremony.

Tiny details: This morning the designer posted a video on Instagram of his team painstakingly applying crystals onto the fabric of the dress one at a time, revealing just how much work went into it.

In an Instagram video uploaded by her close friend and personal hair stylist Yussef Williams, Rihanna is seen bouncing jubilantly in the room as her friends cheer her on. It's exactly this flair for sparking up a conversation that has put Rihanna on the map as a fashion icon, as Anna Wintour explained in her introduction at the awards event.

'Rihanna speaks to her fans with her every look. And what she says to them - and I include all of us in that group - is that it's fun to feel a little boyish one day and dress up like a dazzling diva the next,' said the Vogue editor.

'She was ready for this dress a while ago, and I wasn't. I'm the prude, and I'm just catching up'

'I think that's what she was going for tonight,' she joked.

'The point is to be audacious, even jaw-dropping or button-pushing - and yes, we know she enjoys pushing buttons - while remaining true to yourself.

'She proves that incredible style can help take a talented young woman from a small island to the world stage, and along the way spark a lot of conversation about elegance and empowerment.'

Similar ensembles: The dress has been likened to an Old Hollywood style Josephine Baker would have worn (right), as well as a nod to the dress Marilyn Monroe donned to sing to JFK (left, on auction in 1999)

CLICK MORE STUNNING PHOTOS: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.723211371076675.1073741895.114230231974795&type=1

Rihanna leaves NOTHING to the imagination in racy sheer embellished halter dress as she picks up Fashion Icon Award at CFDAs