Rihanna discontinued her fashion line with LVMH.
According to reports from Women’s Wear Daily and Business of Fashion, the ANTI singer and the French conglomerate have decided to cease their Fenty fashion house. The COVID-19 pandemic forced Rihanna to stay in Los Angeles where she actively managed the California-based Fenty Skin and Fenty Beauty lines, but the Paris fashion start-up — which sold eyewear, shoes and denim in addition to eight ready-to-wear collections per year — reportedly proved too laborious to manage remotely.
LVMH will now focus their efforts on planning retail expansion and honing in on Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty cosmetics line and Fenty Skin products, which they already own. Private equity giant L Catterton, in which they have a stake, invested $115 million into the Savage X Fenty lingerie line.
LVMH and Rihanna first announced their fashion collaboration back in 2019. The history-making news marked the first time that the luxury corporation set up a court house since they worked with Christian LaCroix in 1987. The “Desperado” hitmaker also became the first woman to create an original brand at LMVH and the first woman of color to helm a brand under the conglomerate.
“Designing a line like this with LVMH is an incredibly special moment for us. Mr. Arnault has given me a unique opportunity to develop a fashion house in the luxury sector, with no artistic limits,” the Fenty Beauty CEO said at the time of the announcement. “I couldn’t imagine a better partner both creatively and business-wise, and I’m ready for the world to see what we have built together.”
The future of Rihanna’s fashion label is not yet clear. A LVMH representative said the activity will be “put on hold,” but reports claim the luxury fashion line will come to a complete stop, noting a second run at the maison house is not impossible.