Whether she’s raising eyebrows with her X-rated music videos, or causing a stir with former boyfriend Chris Brown, it seems like Rihanna is never out of the limelight. But global success and a whopping seven albums in seven years clearly hasn’t satisfied Rihanna, because her most recent headlining act has been into the world of fashion. She has teamed up with high street giant River Island to launch a clothing line available worldwide on March 5th, adding ‘fashion designer’ to her list of accolades.
But Rihanna’s not the only girl in the world to go down the high street route of fashion. When Kate Moss launched her collection for Topshop in 2007, she paved the way for celebrity clothing collections on the high street. Flash-forward to 2013, we’ve seen the likes of Kelly Brook and the Kardashians debut collections with affordable retailers. It seems like a winning formula as we get to look like our favourite celebrities, and they cash in on their devoted fans: take a bow Rihanna. She showcased her collection at London Fashion Week to rapturous applause, but we can’t help but think of the young designers struggling to gain recognition in the industry, being overlooked for celebrity clothing lines. It makes you wonder who actually designed Rihanna’s collection. When Victoria Beckham launched her hugely successful eponymous label back in 2008, whispers circulated of its similarity to Marc Jacobs’ line, and she admitted she wasn’t involved in the technical aspects of designing. So can Rihanna’s collection be taken seriously as a fashion collection in its own right?
She’s certainly encapsulated a lot of the current trends: block colour, stripes and neon feature heavily. Yet, there are no spectacular pieces, and it is mainly simple dresses with various slits and slashes to amp up the sex appeal and grunge factor. Some of the revealing outfits would be more suited to the climate of Barbados than England, and it’s slightly worrying to imagine teenagers across the country wearing the various crop tops and bra-lets. Do you have to actually be Rihanna to pull it off the jumpsuit slashed to the naval, and can anyone except her look good in an oversized white t-shirt? We aren’t convinced. Various outfits from her music video ‘We Found Love’ have been reincarnated and her Grammy’s outfit has a doppelganger in the form of a coral dress. So for those of you wanting to dress exactly like RiRi it’s perfect, but for anyone else wanting to sample a new fashion collection it’s not breaking any boundaries.
But the future of celebrity clothing lines is still bright. The influence of people in the spotlight means we are likely to see more of them, as cash-strapped stores look for way to beat their competitors. We bet Whistles dream of a Kate Middleton collection, and no doubt Cheryl Cole has been approached numerous times to design for a high street store. Rihanna’s clothes may not be as ground-breaking as we want them to be, but the venture will undoubtedly be a commercial success, and send thrills through the spines of her fans. But, Rihanna, please don’t stop the music.
Picture Credits:
http://iamboigenius.com/rihanna-we-found-love-royce-da-5-9-x-factor/rihanna-we-found-love-ireland-7/
http://style.mtv.com/2013/02/19/rihanna-river-island-campaign/