In between making a point of not watching the Super Bowl, Rihanna on Instagram stories also published an image of herself sporting a “fresh out the box” pair of Nike Air Force 1 kicks.
This news development may seem like not that big of a deal for the casual observer except Rihanna hasn’t been spotted in a pair of Nike anything since, oh, October 2014 when she wore a pair of Nike custom creepers, designed by Los Angeles label Mr. Completely. A few months later, she announced her partnership with Puma and the creeper sneaker (with a design input from Mr. Completely) became one of her signature silhouettes.
Spring 2018 marked Rihanna’s final season with Puma, though since then she hasn’t returned to wearing sneakers to the same degree in her pre-Puma-exclusive days. She wore a pair of Balenciaga Triple S kicks back in February 2018 but other than the occasional Puma spotting, her outfits have been virtually sneaker free.
As such, the fact that she’s sporting a pair of Nike kicks is significant. (Look close and you can see she’s still showing a little love to Puma with her socks.) And yes, while it’s just a single pair of kicks, it’s hard not to ponder the possibility of a Rihanna and Nike collaboration. Yes it’s true, Rihanna’s hands are very full at the moment. Her efforts include the imminent release of her ninth studio album, plus running her Savage X Fenty lingerie line and Fenty Beauty, along with rumors she’s in the midst of building a luxury label with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
At the same time, Nike has shown a propensity as of late with partnering with designer who merge street and luxury and if Rihanna is indeed launching a luxury label, she perfectly fits the bill. Even if there isn’t a collaboration in the works, you can be sure it’s not for Nike not trying.
