Rihanna’s fashion label is taking a backseat. Image” Twitter/Rihanna
Rihanna’s Fenty Fashion House is put on ice after just two years
Rihanna and the French luxury goods company backing her have put the brakes on Fenty ready-to-wear because of the pandemic.
Rihanna’s fashion label is taking a backseat. Image” Twitter/Rihanna
The star from Barbados, real name Rihanna Robyn Fenty, is a fashion icon to women around the world. But now she and Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), the company that launched her Fenty Fashion House in 2019, have had to put on the brakes.
They are suspending the fashion line mainly due to challenges the fashion industry has been facing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
RIHANNA’S BRAND KNOCKED BY PANDEMIC
It seems even A-list celebrities like Rihanna are not immune to the financial strain the pandemic has put on businesses and individuals. Fenty Fashion House got its name from Rihanna’s surname. It made history by becoming the first luxury brand run by a black woman, and ties in with both inclusivity and diversity.
Fenty was only the second fashion house started from scratch by the LVMH after Christian Lacroix in 1987.
In a brief statement to wwd.com, Rihanna and the French conglomerate said:
“Rihanna and LVMH have jointly made the decision to put on hold the ready-to-wear activity, based in Europe, pending better conditions.”
SITE TO GO DARK IN A FEW WEEKS
The brand that is known for footwear, denimwear and eyewear stopped posting on its Instagram account at the beginning of 2021 and the last collection on Fenty dates back to November 2020.
The e-commerce site which is the brand’s main distribution channel will go dark by the end of February or early March.
Another issue brought on by the pandemic was that Rihanna, as Fenty’s founder and CEO, was unable to travel to Paris and Italy where the team is based. Rihanna lives in the United States.
FOCUS SHIFTS TO RIHANNA’S OTHER BRANDS
The Fenty brand is made up of more than just the fashion house. It also includes Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin and the Savage x Fenty lingerie line. Private equity giant L Catterton, which LVMH has a stake in, raised $115m (R1.6bn) to support the growth and expansion of Savage x Fenty into the retail world.
“LVMH and Rihanna reaffirm their ambition to concentrate on the growth and the long-term development of the Fenty ecosystem focusing on cosmetics, skincare and lingerie,” LVMH and Rihanna said in their statement to wwd.com.
RIHANNA AND FENTY BIG ON INCLUSIVITY
Savage x Fenty was launched in 2018 and reported a 200% growth in 2020. Fenty prioritises inclusivity with its Savage x Fenty bras ranging from sizes 30A to 42H. Sleepwear ranges from XS to 3X and there is also a men’s range.
Fenty Beauty launched in 2017, with 40 shades of foundation. And Rihanna is already promoting Fenty Skin. Her newest product is called Flash Nap, an instant revival eye gel cream.
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