“It’s Bold and It’s Daring”

In the Weekend Financial Times of 5/12/19 there was a photo of Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born February 20, 1988) with the headline, “Force of fashion Rihanna makes history with luxury brand at LVMH.”

Rihanna’s new fashion line – photo courtesy of the Financial Times, 5/26/19

The caption under the photo read, “The pop icon is the first woman to create an original brand at the luxury fashion company and the first woman of color to head an LVMH maison – this is the first time LVMH (Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy) has created a new house since 1987. “Pretty impressive stuff,” I thought to myself.

This was followed by a full-page report on Rihanna’s new endeavor in the Weekend Financial Times of 5/26/19 that sported a headline that read, “It’s bold, it’s badass, it’s daring” that was written by Jo Ellison who starts right off with a quote from Rihanna, the Barbadian singer, businesswoman, fashion designer and actress who says,

“I AM MY OWN MUSE”

Rihanna goes on to explain that her fashion approach with her new luxury label is to “push the envelope. My line is confident. It has a strong silhouette. I want everyone to wear it. But I’ve got to make it right for me.”

The collection features tailored blazers in taupe or pink cotton; a boned shirt with a sculptural, romantic sleeve; Japanese denim jackets and shirt dresses that are designed to cinch the waist and worn short-short-short, or voluminous and oversized. A cotton bodysuit has a bustier neckline and a saucy sensibility.

Accessories include stilettos with barely there straps, chunky gold hoops and massive metallic visor-style sunglasses. It’s a wardrobe for someone who wants to be taken seriously while still in tune with an inner self.

Ellison, the fashion editor for the Financial Times writes, “Actually, the collection is pretty good. For starters, it’s blessedly absent of logos. It’s grown up and womanly, with a femininity undercut with tougher, more masculine look. Rihanna brings a bold assurance and the calm authority of a woman in absolute control.

FASHION KNOCKOUTS THE SINGER HAS IN HER PAST

ONE: TINY SUNGLASSES

I came across this piece in the New York Post of May 29, 2019 and found it very interesting. Rihanna introduced “big-on-style BUT small-on-UV protection” sunglasses to the masses.

Flip flops with high heels and tiny sunglasses – photo courtesy of the New York Post, 5/29/19

TWO: MOLLY GODDARD GOWNS

The pop star has been wearing Goddard since 2016 – she even wore one of her green mini dresses on the streets of New York. Then she stepped out in a sweet purple number at a Fenty Beauty event the following year. Later she appeared in her “casual Tuesday” outfit: a full-length peacock-blue gown, gold jewelry, a single black lace glove and dad sneakers. (Sorry, not for me.)

THREE: BOILER SUITS

(I almost wrote “boiled”) but let’s keep going and say this is, “the industrial all-in-one style in denim that was followed in 2018 – at a Paris fashion show – by a white-hot suit with short sleeves and over-long flared legs.

FOUR: HIGH-HEELED FLIP-FLOPS

This is a sporty-looking thong sandal with a heel and ankle strap. How does one walk in these things? I’d fall flat on my face in two minutes.

FIVE: A NAKED DRESS

This is a crystal-studded barely-there gown Rihanna wore with a 1920’s headpiece and a baby-pink stole to the 2014 CFDA Awards event where she was that year’s Fashion Icon Award winner. She earned her title and then some. (Rumor has it that no one noticed the fur or the headpiece.)

Rihanna in her show-stopping barely-there gown at the CFDA Awards – photo courtesy of the New York Post, 5/29/19

Shaun Nelson-Henrick

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