Rihanna today (May 20, 2019) has provided a sneak peak at items included in Fenty‘s debut collection, the first LVMH label headed by a black woman. Revealed with a T-Magazine cover story, Robin Rihanna Fenty, who is the CEO and artistic director of the label, is shot wearing items including a khaki suit, a denim jacket and a salmon-colored corset dress and jacket. The collection also includes footwear, handbags and accessories.
Prices will range from $200 to $1,500 in the first drop: A t-shirt will cost about $200; outerwear will range from $1,100 to $1,500. Accessories will also be available, including shoes from $600 to $700 and jewelry from $350 to $600. The label will makes its debut with a pop-up store in Paris on May 24th and on fenty.com on May 29th.
Reflecting the label and Rihanna’s own affinity with streetwear, new offerings will use a direct-to-consumer model and will drop every few weeks rather than the seasonal collection model traditional fashion houses follow. Explaining the reasoning, Rihanna stated, “I hate seeing something on the runway and then having to wait six months for it.”
In an interview conducted by actor/playwright Jeremy O. Harris, she explained the label’s DNA, “I use myself as the muse. It’s sweatpants with pearls, or a masculine denim jacket with a corset. I feel like we live in a world where people are embracing every bit of who they are. Look at Jaden Smith, Childish Gambino. They dare you to tell them not to.”
Providing further insight on the look of Fenty, Rihanna’s stylist and Fenty label style director Jahleel Weaver stated, “We’re thinking about each release as a different facet to a woman’s wardrobe and how she approaches dressing. Luxury has been defined in the past as one woman, one brand: You know who the Saint Laurent woman is, you understood who the Céline woman was when it was Phoebe. Which is fine, but you think about how that relates to the modern woman. I don’t think she is just one thing, Rih being the perfect example of that.”
In terms of sizing, Rihanna explained, “I’m thick and curvy right now, and so if I can’t wear my own stuff then, I mean, that’s not gonna work, right? And my size is not the biggest size. It’s actually closer to the smallest size we have: We go up to a [French size] 46. We’re saying we can meet you at any one drop that we put out.”
Rihanna also weighed in on challenges she’s faced because she’s black and a woman and how her stardom hasn’t lessened the push back. She explained, “It’s never alleviated, you know? You’re going to be black wherever you go. And I don’t know if it’s unfortunate or fortunate, because I love being black. So, sorry for those who don’t like it. That’s the first thing you see before you even hear my voice. There are also other factors: I’m young. I’m new to the family. I’m a woman. Those factors do come into play, but I will not apologize for them, and I will not back down from being a woman, from being black, from having an opinion.”
Check out the preview collection below.
