Fenty by Rihanna: Why the luxury fashion brand is shutting down
Today marks the end of an era: Rihanna’s iconic clothing line, Fenty Fashion House, has officially been suspended indefinitely. The line, which was launched less than two years ago, was owned by the luxury conglomerate LVMH, which also boasts the representation of brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior.
Fenty Fashion House’s launch
In 2019, Fenty Fashion house launched following Rihanna starting her beauty brand, Fenty Beauty, and lingerie brand, Savage X Fenty. Regarding the release, Rihanna said in a statement: “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 non artistic limits.”
Rihanna added: “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.’
Bernard Arnault, the Chairman and CEO of LVMH seemed to share Rihanna’s sentiments, adding that: “Everybody knows Rihanna as a wonderful singer, but through our partnership at Fenty Beauty, I discovered a true entrepreneur, a real CEO and a terrific leader.”
Arnault continued: “She naturally finds her full place within LVMH. To support Rihanna to start up the Fenty Maison, we have built a talented and multicultural team supported by the Group resources. I am proud that LVMH is leading this venture and wish it will be a great success.”
Fenty’s demise
LVMH announced to CNN Style that the decision to shut down the line was made alongside Rihanna “pending better conditions”. They added that they would continue to support the Fenty business as a whole and emphasize their focus on “the group and long-term development of Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin, and Savage X Fenty.”
LVMH’s statement on the matter was rather sparse and didn’t offer much detail, but people are guessing it has something to do with the disastrous effect of COVID-19 on the fashion industry.
Beginning of the end
To those who closely follow the fashion industry, the closing of Fenty Fashion house might not come as a great surprise. On a news call reporting the group’s 2020 financial standing, LVMH’s chief financial officer, Jean-Jacques Guiony, suggested it might not be headed in the best direction.
“On Fenty fashion, we are obviously still in a launching phase and we have to figure out exactly what is the right offer. It’s not something that is easy. We were starting entirely from scratch. Obviously, we have the great help from Rihanna on this, but I would say it’s still a work in progress when it comes to really defining what the offer will be.”
Making history
Although the history of Fenty Fashion House is not looking too bright, the launching of the brand was still a pretty big deal. When they partnered, LVMH made Rihanna the first black woman to lead a brand in the company.
And it wasn’t the first time Rihanna has made an impression on the fashion industry. In 2014, she became the creative director of Puma. In addition, she has created collections for the British fashion company, River Island.
Although Rihanna has been notably successful in the fashion industry, her ventures have taken a bit of a toll on her music career. She was once praised for putting an album out every single year, but now hasn’t put one out since 2016.
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Though the recent news about Fenty Fashion house is undoubtedly disappointing for both Rihanna and fans of the line, perhaps she’ll be putting out some new music soon. We sure hope that’s the case!
