Spotted: Queen R wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses in the middle of the night. Last Tuesday, RiRi forgot that it was already dark out in Manhattan and decided to show these never-seen-before frames. The glasses had the word “Fenty” on each side, and of course, everyone is going crazy with the speculation that she could be dropping a new line under her name. We all know how RiRi is a pro at teasing products before they are even released, remember the time she sneakily wore Savage X Fenty lingerie?
But reports in WWD and the New York Times suggest that Rihanna would be aspiring for something far more ambitious than sunglasses. The Barbadian singer, now an entrepreneur, will reportedly team up with fashion conglomerate LVMH, the French parent company of Louis Vuitton, Dior and Givenchy, to start her own luxury fashion house.
If these reports are true, Rihanna would be the first black woman designer at LVMH. From Jennifer Lopez to Kanye West, the fashion world is full of rappers, actors, and reality stars with most of them having their own lines and brands at department stores. However, having a collaboration with a luxury fashion house, an honor limited to only some celebrities, means that Queen R would be the rare celebrity to break this barrier in the high-fashion business.
The new line is expected to launch under the arms of LVMH in the coming months with a range of products from ready-to-wear to handbags and accessories. This collaboration also represents the departure for Bernard Arnault – chairman and CEO of LVMH – who prefers to buy existing fashion labels rather than start them from scratch, which has not been done since Christian Lacroix in 1987.
But Rihanna is no overnight success story. In 2017, she launched Fenty Beauty, named one of the 25 best inventions of that year by Time Magazine. The makeup brand includes a range of 40-shade foundation that intends to appeal to Rihanna’s fans of all races. The month after its launch, Fenty Beauty’s sales were five times bigger than Kylie Cosmetics, according to WWD.
Savage x Fenty, Rihanna’s lingerie line, aims to make inclusion it’s priority when launched in 2018. The underwear comes in a range of nude shades and plus sizes. “I accept all of the bodies,” Rihanna told US Vogue last year. “I’m not built like a Victoria’s Secret girl, and I still feel very beautiful and confident in my lingerie.”
The launch of Rihanna’s brand could in some way serve as a wake-up call for more diversity among fashion figures. Last year, she became the first black woman to be on the September cover of British Vogue – traditionally the largest and most important edition of the magazine. “A fearless music-industry icon and businesswoman, when it comes to that potent mix of fashion and celebrity, nobody does it quite like her,” said the editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful, of Rihanna in British Vogue’s September issue.
It certainly seems like everything Rihanna touches turns into diamonds (yes, diamonds not gold), so it’s no surprise that LVMH is interested in adding her talents to their conglomerate of brands. Even though she has no formal fashion training, she does have a clear vision of her own image, 14 No.1 singles on the Billboard 100 chart, nearly 70 million Instagram followers, and the ability to disrupt the status quo by letting everyone know that both inclusion and representation matter to her.