ELLE reviews the Rihanna for River Island show.
The excitement surrounding Rihanna’s collection for River Island has been building for so long now that there was a real possibility that the reality wouldn’t live up to the hype. We should have known she wouldn’t disappoint.
Her London Fashion Week debut was more of a party than a show - the bass heavy soundtrack had Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn dancing front row throughout. And there was no catwalk - instead, stacked boxes that the models strode up and through.
As for the clothes? Pure Rihanna, from the striped cropped bra top and hot pants to the sporty jumpsuit, the super sexy sheer maxi dress to the denim dungaree bra top and two tone, high waisted jeans.
Before the show she talked to ELLE editor Lorraine Candy through the collection. As beautiful as you thought she was, polite and only an hour late, she was wearing the skin tight black dress from her collection and black heels. So what did we discover?
She told us that her favourite pieces were the black cotton and silk skirt with jumper ties as she wanted ‘to design for all body shapes and when women have a fat day and want to hide bits of their bodies’. The full-length jumpsuit has also made it into her wardrobe as she ‘wears it to dinner when she’s not feeling comfortable for skin tight’.
The sweatshirt pieces were designed with travel in mind and for ‘fat days’. And she designed the black and white shorts to cover the top of her legs because ‘she has cellulite too like everyone else’.
Known for her incredibly sexy style, she wanted to make sure she showed as much skin as possible with the dresses but wanted ‘sexy not vulgar or cheap’. And she also revealed that she had wanted to create a ‘sophisticated silhouette, but pieces that were comfortable and easy to wear’.
And those baseball caps? One of them is emblazoned with the eagle symbol which she has tattooed on her stomach.
Lorraine says, ‘She was charming and very quietly spoken. And our April cover is one of my favourite ever British ELLE covers. She is incredibly pretty and absolutely adorable in the flesh. She has a genuine love of fashion and told us she will continue to design clothes, including another collection for River Island this year.’
(Elle UK)
