Rihanna revealed her first Fenty collection in Paris on Wednesday (May 22, 2019) evening.
She is the first black woman in history to head up a major Parisian luxury house, is unveiling her first fashion designs for Fenty at a pop-up store in Paris.
The collection, named after the singer-turned-designer’s last name, comprises ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and eyewear and is available for sale Paris’ Le Marais area from Friday and will debut online May 29.
“This is a moment in history,” Rihanna, 31, said at a preview of the store in a white structure tuxedo dress. “It’s a big deal for me and my entire generation.”
“How I dress is about what I feel like in that moment,” Rihanna stated during an interview in the Paris showroom.
“How comfortable I want to be, how badass I want to be, how conservative or sexy. I feel like women are multifaceted in that way, and Fenty celebrates that.”
Fenty has been heralded by some critics as the first major house of the Instagram age.
Fenty says the brand will be based in Paris, like its parent company, conglomerate LVMH, but will operate from a digital flagship on a “See-Now-Wear-Now” model forgoing to usual luxury fashion seasonal previewed designs.
“They were flexible enough to allow me to have a different perspective on the way I wanted to release things,” she said.
“Coming from such a traditional background in fashion (as LVMH), you don’t think there’s another way that will work and they allowed me to do that.”
If she looks calm, “it’s a facade,” acknowledged the star when faced with the expectations before the historic launch.
“There’s pressure every single second,” she said. “It’s not like crumbling pressure, but it’s like ‘you better get it good girl.'”