THE MULTIPLE WAYS RIHANNA WON THE COMPETITION AGAINST MARC JACOBS AND SLAYED NYFW

It’s the 12th of September in New York, and at six o’clock in the afternoon, the frantic streets of Manhattan are crowded of two types of fashion people: those who are going to Brooklyn Navy Yard to see Rihanna’s show, and those who are going to Marc Jacobs’s. 

The two designers had in fact scheduled their respective shows almost simultaneously, but for multiple reasons, only Rihanna got to have a houseful of guests. 

First of all, her “rival” happened to be one and a half hour late on the preparation of his own show, and while Mr Jacobs’s guests were waiting and wondering what was happening backstage, on the other side of the town 45 stunning models were preparing to present Rihanna’s SS19 FentyxSavage lingerie collection.

Once they heard of the other show, most of the audience at the Marc Jacobs’s show decided they didn’t want to wait another minute and jumped in a cab. It was clear Rihanna’s show was the hottest ticket in town. 

Another reason for her blowout is that Rihanna’s collection, which was instantly available on the brand’s site, was so impressive, so sexy and energetic that the guests had their minds blown-in a good way. Major Vogue’s fashion expert Steff Yotka said on Elle.com that “The sighting left everyone so high on life that no one would leave the event space, even when the music stopped, even when the lights came up, even when we were just standing in the rain”, and other guests such as blogger and model Kelly Augustine declare to be “shook to their core” by the performance. 

The models Aweng Mayen Chuol and Leomie Anderson who walked the catwalk describe the show as “insane”, confirming that “the backstage was crowded with people because the show was lit”. Millions followed the show on social media, but what most interested the audience is that, even considering the 90 different pieces of lingerie, the four capsule collections ("On the Reg", "Damn", "U Cute", and "Black Widow", the most daring of them all), and the line of “Xcessories” that was dropped on the same date, the backstage of the show was still more interesting than what happened on the scene. 

Highly individual hairstyles were sent on the runway: “Every girl has a hairstyle that accentuates her own beauty. We just enhanced what every girl already had and took it to another level”, says Yusef, the head Hairstylist. The make-up, of course, was from Fenty Beauty, the makeup line that, in 2017, launched thanks to a 10 billion dollars partnership, and that was listed by the Times with the “Best 25 Inventions of 2017”. 

The theme of the show was the garden of Eden, or, more precisely, it reminded the Latin myth of the Bacchants, women of all ethnicities and ages, all dancing freely in nature. The dances and the cathartic frenzy displayed by the models on the catwalk were hypnotising, and the laughter of the girls on stage gave a sense of freedom and youthfulness. Needless to say, everyone’s jaws dropped wide open.

The whole scene was covered with plants, and the colour palette of the collection went from nude to a neon green leopard print, blending perfectly within the overall art direction of the show. While some models walked on grass, some were staring at the audience from behind a glass walled conservatory, some others were walking in the pond, which, adorned by a small waterfall, decorated this verdant utopia. 

The inspiration for the show came from the collection itself. Feathers, tropical frangipani flowers, and kilometres of embroidered lace where only part of it: Rihanna did not limit herself, and between teddies, black corsets, balconette bras and casual underwear, she designed a model for every possible woman on the planet. Grinning ear to ear, Rihanna told Vogue Online: “It’s all about mixing all the authentic, organic things of the Earth, and meshing all this with what we hope to see in our future, or what we hope to see in our future: women being celebrated in all forms, all body types, races and cultures. I always wanted to explore either in the swim or lingerie world, and this is a part of everyone’s daily routine, and so it was something that I wanted to take on as a challenge. I also wanted to think and change those things that were awkward about the lingerie that I’ve worn before, when I was like ‘Ugh, I wish it was like this!’, so that is what drives me to create my own lingerie”.

Rihanna’s special guests in the front row were two delighted fans of the brand, the owners of the Instagram account @yourfashionfairy and @jesjuicy, who had won a contest through the brand just two weeks before and were gifted with a trip to New York and an invitation to the show. The lucky duet used Instagram to enthuse about their prize: they described themselves as “honoured and thrilled to have won the competition” after all, who wouldn’t be after winning 500 $ worth of lingerie? and “definitely amazed by such an incredible show”.

Also, the brand appointed @margieplus to take over the Instagram account of the brand on the day of the show to post some IG stories directly from backstage, giving their fans a red hot glimpse to the heart of the action.

As if all this wasn’t enough, the models were typically amazing: the classic Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid and the usual entourage of super-skinny models we normally see at fashion shows, had been outnumbered by a horde of plus size and diverse models. The show opened with a beautiful Gigi Hadid in khaki who walked the oblong space followed by sister Bella and fellow model Joan Small, followed by a finale, the seductive Duckie Thot in Royal blue.  

The icing on the cake? Rihanna brought two very pregnant women on the catwalk, one of them, muse and best friend Slick Woods actually went into labour during the show! 

This woman can beat Marc Jacobs at fashion week like it’s no effort, she can give birth to a whole new concept of lingerie in one evening, and she’ll convince pregnant women to walk on heels… we dare you to find a greatest savage.