Puma to Fenty: A Timeline of Rihanna's Fashion Partnerships

Rihanna & LVMH are putting a pause on the Fenty luxury fashion house. Here’s what you need to know & a complete timeline of Rihanna's fashion partnerships.

Rihanna Fenty
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Image via Getty/Dimitrios Kambouris

Rihanna Fenty

LVMH, the luxury conglomerate that owns brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Fendi, announced today that it would put Rihanna’s Fenty fashion line on pause after only a year and some change.

The news of Rihanna getting her own fashion house under LVMH was a big moment. It was the first label its CEO Bernard Arnault launched since introducing designer Christian LaCroix more than three decades ago, and she was the first Black woman to lead a brand at the company. Rihanna named her stylist, Jahleel Weaver, as creative director and launched in 2019 with a campaign inspired by Kwame Brathwaite’s photos of the Grandassa Models, a group of Black models who promoted “Black is Beautiful” during the ‘60s and pop-up shops.

While LVMH, which also owns her beauty lines, Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin, will no longer produce Fenty apparel and accessories, they are doubling down on her Savage x Fenty lingerie line. 

According to Fast Company, Savage x Fenty has raised $115 million in Series B funding from L Catterton, a private equity firm connected to LVMH, that brings Savage’s valuation to more than $1 billion. This funding will help Savage open brick-and-mortar stores and possibly move into activewear. Rihanna clearly wants to build an empire and compete with Victoria’s Secret. 

Rihanna’s worked up to this over the years with fashion business partnerships that have included designing her own line with high street UK retailer River Island to making shoes with Manolo Blahnik. Here’s a timeline of Rihanna’s fashion and beauty partnerships. —Aria Hughes

Armani

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Year: 2011

In 2011, Rihanna teamed up with Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans to create her very first fashion line. The line arrived shortly after she starred in Armani’s Fall/Winter 2011 campaign. The video for the campaign was directed by Johan Renck and featured Rihanna dressing up in the brand’s wares for a short ad inspired by classic film noir movies. Rihanna’s first collection with Armani included leather motorcycle jackets, skinny jeans, graphic T-shirts, and lingerie. Rihanna said that her favorite pieces from the collection were the jeans, which she described as having “a slightly rocky feel, fabulously sexy with a strong, masculine edge.” She went on to design one more collection with Armani the following year. The denim pieces included a pair of jean shorts lined with a tartan print and a romper made out of distressed denim. Along with graphic tank tops, T-shirts, and shorts. Rihanna also released push-up bras embellished with glitter. Although it was a short-lived collaboration, Rihanna’s work with Armani clearly paved the way for future endeavors, particularly within lingerie. —Lei Takanashi

River Island

Rihanna x River Island

Puma

Rihanna Puma x Fenty

Stance

Rihanna x Stance

Manolo Blahnik

Rihanna x Manolo Blahnik

Dior

Rihanna Dior Eyewear

Chopard

Rihanna Chopard

Year: 2017

In May 2017, Rihanna brought her vision to the jewelry world by collaborating with Swiss luxury jewelry company Chopard. The “Rihanna Love Chopard” collection debuted at that year’s Cannes Films Festival to help celebrate Chopard’s 20th year as the festival’s official partner. Inspired by her home country of Barbados, the nine-piece collection featured necklaces displaying rose gold and Jungle Green blocks, earrings dangling colorful gemstones from butterflies and flowers, and 18-karat white ethical gold certified ‘Fairmined’ diamond earrings.

“I have always been in love with Chopard’s exquisite jewelry, so to actually design collections with them is something I still can’t believe,” Rihanna said in an official press release. “It was a really incredible process and I learned so much! I can’t wait for everyone to see it.” —Mike DeStefano

Fenty Beauty

Rihanna Fenty Beauty

Savage X Fenty

Rihanna Savage X Fenty

Fenty (LVMH)

Rihanna Fenty

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