One in a series of reports on the clothes that had a moment at New York Fashion Week.
So what have we here? For her New York fashion week show, Rihanna drew inspiration from Japanese street style, mixed in some gothic gloom, some oversize silhouettes from back in the hip-hop old days and a bit of today’s gender-free zeitgeist as imagined by Hood by Air.
The collection was unveiled in the fashion industry’s favorite derelict Wall Street temple on a frigid Friday night. Male and female models stomped down a mirrored runway and through a black and white forest and a bit of dramatic fog. The collection featured sexy women and hunky dudes wearing giant fur warm-up jackets, side-lacing track pants, sky-high Creepers, spike-heeled sneakers and fur fanny packs.
Instead of a show focused on grandiose artistry or political statements, Rihanna’s Fenty collection was just about clothes. About revving up consumer demand for an item (fur fanny packs, maybe?) and a look (get your black lipstick now!).
Fenty ready-to-wear is not high-minded or multilayered. And that’s perfectly fine. It’s just stuff. And perhaps, with Rihanna’s name on it, that’s enough of a sales pitch.
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