FLAUNT - The Generation Issue

C
ontinuing her journey to becoming a Fashion
Icon, she was featured in the 2012 ‘100 Most
Influential’ that year. She then started designing
her collection with River Island, which is going on
to her 4th season. I consider this her formal influence in
fashion, it was in 2004 when she emerged as the R&B
pop princess that she began evolving fashion for young
women both black and white. She’s one of the first artist
that represented and influenced the mainstream, street
culture of youth. As she evolved, street wear and ready
to wear evolved, even for men’s fashion too.
It was in 2007, with the release of Umbrella, when
Rihanna began to find herself in fashion and style and
not just her ‘Rihanna Navy’ of fans. She allowed young
women to find what made them like a sexy powerhouse.
From here fashion, in both teenagers and young women
began to evolved into a refined edge, just as Rihanna
did. By 2008, she sported the chainmail corsets at
black tie events, with power-shouldered jumpsuits,
which quickly started trending along with the leather
hot pants on stage. Women were dressing sexier and
with confidence, which only continued to progress into
accepting racier dressed women as an icon.
RiRi was dominating that media and social scene in 2011,
as her onstage outfits also took the streets. We saw
leather straps, studs, fishnets, and heels, Rihanna was
showcasing her female sexuality as visual performance
for everyone. Shouldn’t every woman feel strong and
confident enough to do the same. This wasn’t about
sex or to flaunt it. It was something to idolize, to relish
in and see that those boundaries could be broken down.
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