May 22, 2019 |
Photo by Kristin-Lee Moolman for T Magazine
Unless you’ve been hibernating for the past few months, you will already know Rihanna is the first black woman in charge of a Parisian luxury fashion house. Fenty, her LVMH-supported brand, is launching tomorrow via a dedicated pop-up in Paris, before finally coming online on May 29th. We can’t remember a time when the world was so excited about a brand launch – but it’s Rihanna. And where she goes, so do millions of people. Award-winning albums? Groundbreaking beauty products? Inclusive lingerie? There’s plenty this talented woman has already achieved, and there’s no sign of stopping anytime soon. “I use myself as the muse,” Rihanna told playwright Jeremy O. Harris in an exclusive interview for New York Times’ T Magazine when speaking about the brand. In both a visual and verbal preview of Fenty’s first collection, it was clear this brand was a streamlined update of the sartorial conversation Rihanna started back in 2005 when she launched her first album, Music of the Sun. Since then, she has undoubtedly become one of the most famous people in the world, and a big part of that was the evolution of her personal style which accompanied the evolution of her career. The two worlds first intertwined when she launched a collaborative collection with the sportswear giant Puma in 2016 which went on for several season. Now, it’s time for a whole new level – judging based on the first images of the collection, Rihanna is definitely not fooling around.
While the statement tailoring in neutral colours, sharp denim pieces and a fully realised accessories line reference classic French fashion, the business model of Fenty follows on the streetwear conventions. Growing on the collection launching as the base of the brand, there will be new drops coming on fenty.com every month. Why? “Because I’m a millennial, you know? People are always looking for the thing that hasn’t made it online yet. And as a consumer, I hate seeing something on the runway and then having to wait six months for it,” Rihanna tells Harris in T Magazine. See – even Rihanna gets impatient. The only difference is… She gets her designer goodies with a snap of her (stylist’s) fingers.
In celebration of finally Fenty launching, we revisited all those sartorial moments that saw Riri serving looks straight off the catwalks and onto the streets. No one makes us think we can pull of some wild couture like Rihanna… Runway to Rih-ality, this is a story of fashion extravagance – numbers included.
PRADA AW14
A mix of look no. 10 (jacket) and look no. 25 (jumper)
First seen in Milan, February 20th 2014
Worn by Riri on March 5th for the Miu Miu AW14 Show
Time elapsed: 12 days
V FILES AW14
Looks by Melitta Baumeister & Hyein Seo from the V Files collective show
First seen in NYC, February 6th 2014
Worn by Riri on March 1st in Paris for the Comme des Garçons AW14 show
Time elapsed: 22 days
GIAMBATTISTA VALLI SS15 HAUTE COUTURE
Look no. 46 (finale)
First seen in Paris, January 26th 2015
Worn by Riri at the 2015 Grammy’s on February 8th
Time elapsed: 13 days
RAF SIMONS AW15
Look no. 1
First seen in Paris, January 20th 2015
Worn by Riri to the Opening Ceremony’s NYC store on March 30th
Time elapsed: 69 days
ARMANI PRIVÉ SS16 HAUTE COUTURE
Look no. 45
First seen in Paris, January 27th 2016
Worn by Riri at the Brit Awards in London on February 24th
Time elapsed: 28 days
TOM FORD SS18
Look no. 13, as worn by Selena Forrest
First seen in NYC, September 6th 2017
Worn by Riri to Vogue’s Forces Of Fashion Conference in NYC on October 12th
Time elapsed: 36 days
ALEXANDRE VAUTHIER SS19 HAUTE COUTURE
Look no. 20
First seen in Paris on January 22th 2019
Worn by Riri to an Oscar’s Party on February 25th
Time elapsed: 34 days
OFF-WHITE AW19
Look number 45, as worn by Bella Hadid
First seen in Paris, February 28th
Worn by Riri on April 28th – on Instagram
Time elapsed: 59 days
