Designer Reveals What Sparked Jay-Z & Solange Knowles' Elevator Clash

The famous 2014 elevator fight between Solange Knowles and Jay-Z has remained one of the most talked-about pop-culture moments of the last decade.

For years, people have guessed what caused Solange to suddenly attack her brother-in-law after a Met Gala afterparty.

Now, fashion designer Oscar G. Lopez, the man who created Rachel Roy’s dress that night, says he finally knows why it happened.

His explanation ties back to a simple interaction inside the venue that unexpectedly spiraled into global headlines.

Oscar G. Lopez says the story began inside the Met Gala when Roy crossed paths with Jay-Z.

According to him, the rapper was surprised by how striking she looked in the black lace gown Lopez designed.

“I think that Jay complimented her about the gown and Beyoncé’s sister felt that it was not proper, so it was a kind of a drama there,” he revealed in a chat with the Daily Mail.

That brief interaction, Lopez believes, lit the fuse for what later happened in the elevator.

The decade-old video showed Solange, dressed in a sherbet orange Phillip Lim gown, pushing Jay-Z into a corner as security tried to control the situation.

Meanwhile, Beyoncé, wearing a detailed black Givenchy Haute Couture gown, stepped back and exchanged words but never physically stepped into the fight.

Lopez says he watched the incident blow up online almost immediately. Even though he had nothing to do with the altercation itself, the scandal brought attention to his work.

“Any press is good press,” he said, explaining that sometimes headlines benefit people who are only “collateral damage.”

When the footage leaked, the world questioned the state of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s marriage and Solange's reasons for the attack.

Hours of online theories pointed to long-rumored cheating stories involving the record executive and Roy. However, at the time, the family stayed mostly quiet.

Jay-Z and Solange eventually released a joint statement to the Associated Press, saying they had “apologized to each other” and moved forward as a “united family.”

Years later, Jay-Z spoke more openly about their relationship. In a 2017 interview, he said he and his sister-in-law were “cool” and called her a “sister.”

That same period, Beyoncé released her “Lemonade” album, which included the widely-discussed lyric about “Becky with the good hair.”

Many fans assumed the line was aimed at Roy, who then shared an Instagram caption reading, “Good hair don’t care,” before later saying her post was misunderstood.

Lopez’s story also reminded fans why Roy’s name was tied to the elevator scandal in the first place.

Roy and Jay-Z had known each other long before 2014.

She once interned at Rocawear, the clothing brand Jay-Z co-founded with Damon Dash, who was also her husband at the time.

She later worked her way up to creative director of the women’s and children’s lines.

Lopez said he met Roy years before the incident, and she trusted him enough to request a Met Gala gown with less than two weeks’ notice.

He quickly produced a dress made with French sequined lace and silk organza.

However, Roy was late to the carpet, according to Lopez, so she missed being photographed on the iconic museum steps.

Once the elevator footage went viral, that didn’t matter as the dress was all over the news.

He said that he and Roy laughed about the situation, calling it “so silly,” especially since she had once been married to Jay-Z’s former business partner.

While the scandal changed how the world viewed the celebrity trio, Lopez says it unexpectedly boosted his career.

In the years since the incident, Lopez has become a regular designer for the Trump family.

He has created outfits for Tiffany Trump’s engagement photo shoot, wedding events, and other major moments. He also designs for Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Lopez said he receives hateful online comments because of the clients he works with, but he isn’t bothered by them.

Some people criticize him for dressing them, he explained, but still add that his work is “amazing.”

The designer said that any comment helps because it exposes his fashion to more people.

In 2017, Jay-Z officially confirmed that he cheated on Beyoncé and revealed that the couple used music and therapy to work through their pain.

Speaking in a candid interview with New York Times Magazine, he explained, “You shut down all emotions. So even with women, you gonna shut down emotionally, so you can’t connect. In my case, like it’s, it’s deep. And then all the things happen from there: infidelity.”

He admitted that the emotional damage from his past caused him to make mistakes in their marriage.

The 57-year-old went on to say that the albums they created after the scandal served as a form of therapy.

“We were using our art almost like a therapy session,” he said, noting they worked together on music during that difficult period.

Jay‑Z admitted that hearing each other’s work was painful, but also said it helped them confront their issues and find a path forward.