The Bajan singer Robyn Rihanna Fenty has a last name that is so similar to one of the most iconic fashion brands in the world: Fendi. It seems almost too coincidental, so does the Caribbean Queen own Fendi?
Rihanna does not own the luxury fashion brand Fendi. She has her own fashion and beauty company of a similar name, Fenty Beauty. Rihanna made an agreement with the massive luxury fashion conglomerate, LVMH, to have her beauty products manufactured. Fendi along with Givenchy, Dior, and other luxury fashion brands are also subsidiaries of LVMH.
You can read more about Fendi, Rihanna’s company Fenty, and the deal she made with LVMH below.
Fendi: The Italian Luxury Brand
Fendi has been around for a very long time and well before Rihanna was even a thought on this planet. The company began in 1925 by a husband and wife who opened up their own fur and leather goods shop. That means that the Fendi brand is almost 100 years old!
The store was located in Rome, Italy. In 1946, the company was taken over by the second generation of Fendi’s, five sisters who were the children of founders Adele and Edoardo Fendi. Famed fashion icon, Karl Lagerfeld, joined the company in 1965 and worked with them until his death in 2019.
It was in 2001 that Fendi became a subsidiary of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE. The massive fashion conglomerate, owned by Bernard Arnault, paid $225 million to take over the Fendi brand. Fendi joined the ranks of other luxury fashion and beauty brands like Gucci, Sephora, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, and Tag Heuer, who are also subsidiaries.
Rihanna may not own Fendi, but the R&B and fashion icon has definitely worn products from the brand before. She actually collaborated with the brand to create her own version of their classic handbag known as a baguette. The bag that she designed was auctioned off and the money went to a charity of her choosing.
Rihanna Starts Fenty
Rihanna has been using her last name, Fenty, for all of her business ventures outside of music. She doesn’t want to mix the two. It was in 2014, that the Work singer trademarked her surname for the purpose of future business endeavors. Among those trademarks were Fenty Fashion and Fenty Beauty.
In 2017, it was announced that she had made a deal with LVMH. In a 2019 interview with New York Times Magazine, Rihanna spoke about the initial deal with LVMH. She said “I already had a relationship with them after the Versailles campaign and the makeup line, so they extended the offer to me and it was a no-brainer because LVMH is a machine. Bernard Arnault was so enthusiastic; he trusted me and my vision.”
This was a big deal for the Ocean’s 8 star, but what was even bigger was the fact that she was the first black woman to ever work with the conglomerate in such a capacity. She recalled in the same interview that “I still couldn’t believe it. It made me feel proud.”
Rihanna’s Fenty Is High Fashion for Everyone
In her launch of the Fenty brand, Riri has made one thing clear, her products are high fashion for women of all shapes, sizes, and colors. She made a huge impact on the fashion world with her Savage X Fenty fashion show in 2018.
The show was for the launch of her new lingerie line of products. As this Harper’s Bazaar article highlights “There were women of all sizes, races, ethnicities, trans women, disabled women.” Amazon made a special documentary about the show, which is now available to stream on Prime Video.
You can watch Rihanna’s dance performance at the Savage X Fenty fashion show at the below YouTube link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KejMpUAqCwQ
On top of having an inclusive fashion brand, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty products have been made for even skin tone possible. The concealer released last year came in 50 different shades. These products are available for purchase on the Fenty website or at Sephora.