Paris Fashion Week, being one of the most coveted events for the fashion community, opened its’ doors to Pop Queen, Rihanna, for her premiere 2017 collection Fenty x Puma a few days ago.
Gathering her inspiration from former French royals, Rihanna dubs her collection as if Marie Antoinette were to go to the gym, her vision resonated with the opulent 18th century French fashion, melding two time periods of past and current together. One can see that, with the soft pink colour schemed gym clothes mixed with corsetry and brocade in both the womenswear and menswear designs.
Channeling her personal style and infusing it into a relatable translation of streetwear meets a sophisticated French lady can be seen in the details. The delicate details can be seen littered everywhere, oversized strands of pearls, the lace in the scarfs and fans, the ruffled hemming, the billowed jackets and more all give the impression of buying into French grandeur.
The menswear as seen on Anwar Hadid below, has a touch of the elaborate as well, with its floral embroidery and lace up detailing on the pants of the sweat-suit set and oversized sleeves, qualities one doesn’t see every day on the market for men’s athletic wear.
Rihanna really did play around with silhouette, having short and long lengths when athletic wear has been traditionally constructed for practicality for the active activities, having billowing oversized outwear when normally athletic jackets are more form fitted.
The shoe wear was as well given the Rihanna touch with her former slides were given an update with satin khaki and she introduced a heeled bootie in pastel colors and an updated version of creepers.
While Rihanna has partnered with other brands as being a spokesmodel, I feel like we have not seen such a sophisticated interpretation of her style at the hands of her own design before. I am not sure I would personally rock such pieces to the gym, but I could definitely see how some lovely pieces would make its way into my wardrobe as classy casual wear.
In true French preference, all the girls rocked fresh faces to let their natural beauty shine through and were sporting intricate nails in classic Rihanna style, again showing how she infused two modes of style together seamlessly.
This collection is a far step from some of Puma’s former collections with other celebrity spokespersons and puts in one’s mind questioning what will come next with the brand and if the world of athletic wear is about to get a revamp in how they see their consumer and the fitness world.
Written by Heather Rochford