Rihanna has, in the past week alone, been photographed in a corseted Dolce & Gabbana bodysuit dating back to the 1990s and Saint Laurent slingbacks; a curve-hugging LaQuan Smith column with Gianvito Rossi’s embellished Montecarlo sandals and at least $50,000-worth of Marie Lichtenberg jewels draped around her neck; and a Bottega Veneta coat of gargantuan proportions with a Sardine bag clutched against her naked thigh. The subtext beneath each look was emphatic: “Envy me.”
And then, a sudden shift. The musician was yesterday afternoon seen exiting a New York hotel in an oversized Stüssy tracksuit with classic Timberland boots and just one (one) tennis necklace. The look was utilitarian, faceless—words not often associated with this billionaire’s mercurial experiments in style—for even when Rihanna dresses down, she dresses up: an enormous Bottega Veneta stole draped across the shoulders of a track jacket, sports jerseys veiled in chains of twinkling diamonds.
See also: the Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture pearl choker she wore with wide-legged denim and Puma sneakers for a casual dinner in Los Angeles, and the Christian Lacroix necklace that framed her bump when she announced her first pregnancy in 2022 in a Chanel puffer jacket and Vetements jeans. Fans love this sort of thing, because Rihanna is a vessel for their own luxurious fantasies. But perhaps this look represents the final level of glamorous living: a state of not trying to, but still always being envied.
